title: IgM to human cytomegalovirus: comparison of two enzyme immunoassays and IgM reactivity to viral polypeptides detected by immunoblotting.
abstract: IgM detection by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is the most used method of establishing a cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during pregnancy. In this paper, we discuss the results obtained assaying 1,000 sera from pregnant women by two ELISA kits: a traditional indirect ELISA and a more recent IgM-capture ELISA. All the sera that gave a positive ELISA value with one or both kits were further tested by immunoblotting (IB) to establish which CMV polypeptides were detected by IgM antibodies. From the results obtained, IgM-capture ELISA seems less sensitive than indirect ELISA, but correlates better with serological evidence of active CMV infections as judged by typical IB profiles.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bologna, St. Orsola General Hospital, Italy.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Re
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Landini
mesh_terms: D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D014764:Viral Proteins