title: Detection of specific antibodies to an antigenic mannoprotein for diagnosis of Penicillium marneffei penicilliosis.
abstract: The disseminated and progressive fungal disease Penicillium marneffei penicilliosis is one of the most common infectious diseases in AIDS patients in Southeast Asia. To diagnose systemic penicilliosis, we developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based antibody test with Mp1p, a purified recombinant antigenic mannoprotein of P. marneffei. Evaluation of the test with guinea pig sera against P. marneffei and other pathogenic fungi indicated that this assay was specific for P. marneffei. Clinical evaluation revealed that high levels of specific antibody were detected in two immunocompetent penicilliosis patients. Furthermore, approximately 80% (14 of 17) of the documented penicilliosis patients with human immunodeficiency virus tested positive for the specific antibody. No false-positive results were found for serum samples from 90 healthy blood donors, 20 patients with typhoid fever, and 55 patients with tuberculosis, indicating a high specificity of the test. Thus, this ELISA-based test for the detection of anti-Mp1p antibody can be of significant value as a diagnostic for penicilliosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong. lcao@hkucc.Hku.hk
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vanittanakom
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Tsang
authors.forename: K Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Yuen
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D000818:Animals; D000908:Antibodies, Fungal / Q000097:blood*; D000946:Antigens, Fungal / Q000276:immunology*; D001210:Asia, Southeastern; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D018023:HIV Seronegativity; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000276:immunology*; D009181:Mycoses / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D010407:Penicillium / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012698:Serologic Tests; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis; D014435:Typhoid Fever / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D000908:Antibodies, Fungal; D000946:Antigens, Fungal; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; C025363:mannoproteins