title: Serum antibody response to respiratory syncytial virus F and N proteins in two populations at high risk of infection: children and elderly.
abstract: Human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) is the main viral cause of severe respiratory infections in children and a common cause of morbidity in the elderly. The nucleocapsid (N) and fusion (F) proteins of hRSV were expressed in insect cells and used as antigens in two independent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) to measure the serum antibody response in two populations at high risk of hRSV infection, children and the elderly. Fifty-seven serum specimens from children aged from 1 to 10 years old and 91 sera from adults over 60 years old were tested. The ELISA results were compared with those obtained by an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) based on hRSV-infected cells, which was considered as the reference technique. Sensitivity and specificity were 94% and 85% for the N-ELISA and 86% and 81% for the F-ELISA, respectively. When the immune responses of the two groups of individuals were compared, it appeared that almost 100% of the elderly had antibodies against the N or F protein whereas only 50% of the sera from children had antibodies against either of the two viral proteins. In conclusion, the F and N ELISAs can be used successfully for detecting a specific antibody response to hRSV.
authors.affiliation: Inmunología y Genética Aplicada S.A. (INGENASA), Hnos. García Noblejas, Madrid, Spain. psastre@ingenasa.es
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sastre
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Cusi
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Manoha
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Schildgen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vela
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rueda
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008875:Middle Aged; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology*; D018113:Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D044967:Serum / Q000276:immunology*; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; C526850:F protein, human respiratory syncytial virus; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D014760:Viral Fusion Proteins