title: The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for malaria. I. The use of in vitro-cultured Plasmodium falciparum as antigen.
abstract: Using the Panama II strain of Plasmodium falciparum obtained from continuous in vitro culture as antigen, the micro enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to test serum samples from 50 persons from the southeastern United States and serum specimens collected weekly from four non-immune and nine semi-immune patients infected with P. falciparum. None of the 50 sera from the United States had ELISA antibody titers greater than 1:80. The nine semi-immune patients had rapid ELISA antibody responses (titers greater than 1:2560) following patent parasitemia. ELISA titers remained elevated despite disappearance of patent parasitemia, and declined gradually following curative antimalarial therapy. The ELISA responses observed in the four non-immune patients were more variable, though positive titers appeared rapidly with patent parasitemia. Maximum titers were lower than those observed in semi-immune patients. These results demonstrate that P. falciparum obtained from continuous in vitro culture is an excellent antigen for the micro-ELISA test for malaria. However, further assessments of the ELISA are needed to identify the conditions associated with positive responses.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D000917:Antibody Formation; D000941:Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D001029:Aotus trivirgatus; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003470:Culture Media; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000882:Haplorhini; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008288:Malaria / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D000941:Antigens; D003470:Culture Media