Evaluation of three commercial varicella-zoster virus IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in comparison to the fluorescent-antibody-to-membrane-antigen test.
Commercial serologic assays for varicella-zoster virus (VZV), which enable reliable determination of VZV immune status and are amenable to automation, are needed. The present study compares the automated performance of the VZV whole-cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) Enzygnost anti-VZV/IgG, the Euroimmun anti-VZV ELISA (IgG) based on highly purified viral proteins, and the VZV glycoprotein (gp)-based Serion ELISA Classic VZV IgG. The fluorescent-antibody-to-membrane-antibody (FAMA) test was used as a reference. A total of 638 serum samples from VZV-negative children, blood donors, varicella vaccinees, and bone marrow transplant recipients were included. The Enzygnost anti-VZV/IgG and the Serion ELISA Classic VZV IgG showed sensitivities of 99.6% and 99.2%, respectively, and the Euroimmun anti-VZV ELISA (IgG) had a significantly lower sensitivity of 90.5%. Specificity was calculated as 100% for both the Euroimmun anti-VZV ELISA (IgG) and for the Enzygnost anti-VZV/IgG, and the Serion ELISA Classic VZV IgG had a significantly lower specificity of 89.4%. Quantitative results of all ELISAs correlated well, but there was a poor quantitative correlation between the ELISAs and FAMA. In conclusion, this study does not show any superiority of a gp- and a protein-based ELISA compared to a whole-cell ELISA for the automated detection of VZV-specific IgG. The automated performance of the Enzygnost anti-VZV/IgG assay correlated best with the FAMA reference assay.
Institute of Virology and Antiviral Therapy, German Reference Laboratory for HSV and VZV, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany. Andreas.Sauerbrei@med.uni-jena.de
Andreas
A
Sauerbrei
Anna
A
Schäfler
Jörg
J
Hofmann
Michael
M
Schacke
Bernd
B
Gruhn
Peter
P
Wutzler
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001331:Automation / Q000379:methods; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique / Q000379:methods; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G