Serological diagnosis of human herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2 infections by luciferase immunoprecipitation system assay.
Highly quantitative and high-throughput serological tests for evaluation of humoral responses to herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 are not available. The efficacy of luciferase immunoprecipitation system (LIPS) assays for antibody profiling and serologic diagnosis of HSV-1 and HSV-2 infection was investigated using a panel of five recombinant HSV antigens. Plasma samples from subjects seropositive for HSV-1 and/or HSV-2 or seronegative for HSV-1 and HSV-2 that had previously been analyzed by Western blotting and the Focus Plexus immunoassay were evaluated. The LIPS test measuring anti-gG1 antibody titers was 96% sensitive and 96% specific for detecting HSV-1 infection, compared with the Focus immunoassay, and was 92% sensitive and 96% specific, compared with Western blotting. The results for the anti-gG2 LIPS test for HSV-2 precisely matched those for Western blotting, with 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity, and showed robust antibody titers in all the HSV-2-infected samples that were over 1,000 times higher than those in HSV-2-negative or HSV-1-positive samples. Antibodies to three additional HSV-2 proteins, gB, gD, and ICP8, were detected in many of the HSV-1- and/or HSV-2-infected plasma samples and showed preferentially higher immunoreactivity in HSV-2-infected plasma. The titers of antibodies to these three HSV-2 antigens also significantly correlated with each other (R=0.75 to 0.81; P<0.0001). These studies indicate that the robust anti-gG1 and anti-gG2 antibody responses detected by LIPS assays are useful for HSV-1 and HSV-2 detection and suggest that profiling of antibody responses to a panel of HSV proteins may be useful for characterizing individual humoral responses to infection and for monitoring responses to vaccines.
Burbelo
Peter D
PD
Neurobiology and Pain Therapeutics Section, Laboratory of Sensory Biology, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Hoshino
Yo
Y
Leahy
Hannah
H
Krogmann
Tammy
T
Hornung
Ronald L
RL
Iadarola
Michael J
MJ
Cohen
Jeffrey I
JI
D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology*; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D018258:Herpesvirus 2, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D047468:Immunoprecipitation / Q000379:methods*; D008156:Luciferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D008156:Luciferases