title: Type specificity of complement-fixing antibody against herpes simplex virus type 2 AG-4 early antigen in patients with asymptomatic infection.
abstract: We evaluated the type specificity of complement-fixing (CF) antibody against the AG-4 early antigen of herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 2 (HSV-2) by comparing a commercial AG-4 CF kit (Simplex-2; Gene Link Australia, Inc., Princeton, N.J.) with quantal microneutralization (MN) and absorption-Western blotting in testing sera from patients with and without a history of genital herpes. Sera characterized as HSV type 1 (HSV-1) or HSV-2 positive or negative by MN were selected and tested by CF, and those with discordant results were further analyzed for specific antibodies by absorption with HSV-1 or HSV-2 antigen and Western blotting with heterologous HSV proteins. A total of 34 of 42 (81%) sera HSV-2 positive by MN, 19 of 43 (44%) sera HSV-1 positive by MN, and 0 of 19 sera negative by MN were positive by CF. Absorption-Western blotting showed that 12 of 18 (67%) sera HSV-1 positive by MN but positive by CF had no HSV-2-specific antibody and that all 7 sera HSV-2 positive by MN but negative by CF had HSV-2-specific antibody. When MN and absorption-Western blotting data were combined to analyze patients with no history of genital herpes, 7 of 19 (37%) with no HSV-2-specific antibody were positive by CF, and 7 of 27 (26%) with HSV-2-specific antibody were negative by CF. The positive and negative predictive values for the CF test were 78 and 75%, respectively, in this group. The presence of antibody to the HSV AG-4 antigen does not discriminate sufficiently between HSV-1- and HSV-2-infected patients to be of value in predicting HSV-2 infection in the absence of symptomatic disease.
mesh_terms: D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D003168:Complement Fixation Tests; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006558:Herpes Genitalis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007158:Immunologic Techniques; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic