title: Antibody response to P-protein in patients with Branhamella catarrhalis infections.
abstract: Branhamella catarrhalis is now recognized as an important cause of lower respiratory tract infections, especially in the elderly. In most instances, pathogenicity is presumed by recovery of the organism in a sputum culture, a method that is less than conclusive. In order to better diagnose B. catarrhalis infections, an enzyme-linked immunoassay has been developed using P-protein as antigen to measure antibodies to B. catarrhalis. In 17 elderly patients with B. catarrhalis pneumonia and 12 with tracheobronchitis, acute-phase serum antibody titers to P-protein were found to be significantly increased when compared with those of normal subjects (both p less than 0.02). There were no differences in antibody titers between patients with pneumonia and tracheobronchitis. Antibody titers of convalescent-phase sera increased over those of acute-phase sera in 46 percent of pneumonia patients and 50 percent of tracheobronchitis patients. The results demonstrated that lower respiratory tract infections with B. catarrhalis promote a significant elevation in antibody response to P-protein of B. catarrhalis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, James H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City 37614.
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Verghese
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hamati
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Berk
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D001991:Bronchitis / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D001936:Moraxella catarrhalis / Q000276:immunology*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000276:immunology; D014136:Tracheitis / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins