Enzyme-linked immunospot assay detection of mumps-specific antibody-secreting B cells as an alternative method of laboratory diagnosis.
Although high measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination coverage has been successful in dramatically reducing mumps disease in the United States, mumps (re)infections occasionally occur in individuals who have been either previously vaccinated or naturally infected. Standard diagnostics that detect virus or virus-specific antibody are dependable for confirming primary mumps infection in immunologically naïve persons, but these methods perform inconsistently for individuals with prior immune exposure. We hypothesized that detection of activated mumps-specific antibody-secreting B cells (ASCs) by enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay could be used as a more reliable diagnostic. To test this, a time course of virus-specific ASC responses was measured by ELISPOT assay following MMR vaccination of 16 previously vaccinated or naturally exposed adult volunteers. Mumps-specific ASCs were detectable in 68% of these individuals at some point during the first 3 weeks following revaccination. In addition, mumps-specific ASCs were detected in 7/7 previously vaccinated individuals who recently had been infected as part of a confirmed mumps outbreak. These data suggest that ELISPOT detection of mumps-specific ASCs has the potential for use as an alternative method of diagnosis when suspect cases cannot be confirmed by detection of IgM or virus. In addition, it was determined that mumps-specific memory B cells are detected at a much lower frequency than measles- or rubella-specific cells, suggesting that mumps infection may not generate robust B-cell memory.
Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. dlatner@cdc.gov
Donald R
DR
Latner
Marcia
M
McGrew
Nobia
N
Williams
Luis
L
Lowe
Roniel
R
Werman
Eli
E
Warnock
Kathleen
K
Gallagher
Peter
P
Doyle
Sandra
S
Smole
Susan
S
Lett
Noelle
N
Cocoros
Alfred
A
DeMaria
Raimond
R
Konomi
Cedric J
CJ
Brown
Paul A
PA
Rota
William J
WJ
Bellini
Carole J
CJ
Hickman
D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D000921:Antibody-Producing Cells / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D058501:Enzyme-Linked Immunospot Assay / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory / Q000276:immunology; D008457:Measles / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008459:Measles virus / Q000276:immunology; D022542:Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009107:Mumps / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D009109:Mumps virus / Q000276:immunology*; D012409:Rubella / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D012412:Rubella virus / Q000276:immunology; D014481:United States; D014611:Vaccination
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D022542:Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine