Diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus infection by enzyme-linked immunospot assays in a prospectively followed cohort of infants of human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive women.
The enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT), a method for quantifying specific and total antibody-secreting cells, was used for the diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in a prospectively followed cohort of infants born to HIV-infected women. From July 1, 1987, to June 1, 1990, 127 infants with known HIV infection status were studied. Seventeen of 22 HIV-infected infants had specific HIV-specific antibody-secreting cells (ASC). Among the infected infants rates of ASC positivity increased during the first year of life, from 25% in the first 5 days of life to 78% after 6 months. Two of the five ASC-negative infected infants were further characterized as hypo- or dysgammaglobulinemic by an adjunct ELISPOT assay for total immunoglobulin-secreting cells. Excluding hypo- or dysgammaglobulinemic infants from the analysis, the rate of ASC positivity among infected infants was 85% (17 of 20) after the age of 6 months. None of the 95 uninfected infants had a positive ELISPOT assay, including 55 who were tested in the first 3 months of life. Thus in this series the specificity was 100%. ELISPOT methodology can be a useful technique for the diagnosis of HIV infection in infants of HIV-seropositive mothers.
Nesheim
S
S
Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30303.
Lee
F
F
Sawyer
M
M
Jones
D
D
Lindsay
M
M
Slade
B
B
Shaffer
N
N
Holmes
R
R
Ashby
R
R
Grimes
V
V
D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011446:Prospective Studies