title: The advantage of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) as a method of microbiological monitoring for rat virus (RV).
abstract: An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was tested to detect antibodies against rat virus (RV). The purified ELISA antigens were prepared from rat embryonic cells infected with RV-13 (prototype strain) and UT-2 (Japanese isolate), respectively. Western blotting analysis confirmed that both of these antigens had three structural polypeptides (81 K, 61 K, and 59 K). Eleven laboratory and wild rat colonies in Japan were tested for rat virus contamination, serologically. No significant differences in the sero-positive ratio and the distributions of ELISA titers were demonstrated in the ELISA, using antigens from RV-13 and UT-2. ELISA was more sensitive and specific for detecting antibodies against RV from rat serum rather than hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. This study also confirmed that the RV contaminated widely in colonies of laboratory and wild rats in Japan, and suggested that RV would have to be checked during the microbiological monitoring of laboratory rats.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Animal Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukazawa
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yagami
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Urano
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanikawa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory / Q000382:microbiology; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000382:microbiology; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D010321:Parvoviridae / Q000276:immunology*; D010322:Parvoviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary; D051381:Rats / Q000382:microbiology*; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral