JCM Figure table search 04
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Young, H.
Right arrow Articles by McMillan, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Young, H.
Right arrow Articles by McMillan, A.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 1998, p. 913-917, Vol. 36, No. 4
0095-1137/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Novel Recombinant-Antigen Enzyme Immunoassay for Serological Diagnosis of Syphilis

H. Young,1,* A. Moyes,1 L. Seagar,1 and A. McMillan2

Department of Medical Microbiology, Edinburgh University Medical School,1 and Genitourinary Medicine Unit, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary,2 Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Received 29 September 1997/Returned for modification 11 November 1997/Accepted 23 December 1997

Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) is an ideal method for screening large numbers of patients for syphilis. We evaluated a novel immune-capture EIA (ICE Syphilis; Murex Diagnostics) that uses three recombinant Treponema pallidum antigens (TpN15, TpN17, and TpN47) and compared the results with those obtained by the native T. pallidum antigen EIA (Captia SelectSyph-G; Centocor) that we currently use for the serodiagnosis of syphilis. Specificity was evaluated by screening 1,184 unselected serum specimens in parallel by the ICE Syphilis and SelectSyph-G assays, while sensitivity was tested with a panel of 101 serum specimens containing antitreponemal antibodies (treated and untreated) from patients with various stages of infection. The specificity of the ICE Syphilis EIA (99.8%) on screening was significantly higher (P < 0.02) than that of the SelectSyph-G EIA (99.2%). The sensitivity of the ICE Syphilis EIA was significantly higher (P < 0.01) than that of the SelectSyph-G EIA on both initial (99 versus 91.4%) and repeat (100 versus 92.4%) testing. The ICE Syphilis EIA was also significantly more sensitive (P < 0.01) than the fluorescent treponemal antibody-abs (92.4%) but not the T. pallidum hemagglutination assay (97.1%). Sera containing antitreponemal antibodies gave a much higher antibody index (absorbance of test serum/kit cutoff) by the ICE Syphilis EIA than by the SelectSyph-G EIA. This combined with the overall high sensitivity makes the ICE Syphilis EIA an ideal test for excluding or detecting treponemal infection in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. The ICE Syphilis EIA was positive with sera from all 15 HIV-infected patients in the study, whereas sera from 3 HIV-infected patients were negative by the SelectSyph-G EIA. We conclude that the high sensitivity and specificity of the ICE Syphilis EIA and its suitability for automation make it an ideal screening test.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Medical Microbiology, Edinburgh University Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, Scotland, United Kingdom. Phone: 0131 650 3143. Fax: 0131 650 3144. E-mail: hugh.young{at}ed.ac.uk.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 1998, p. 913-917, Vol. 36, No. 4
0095-1137/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. Clin. Microbiol. Rev.
Clin. Vaccine Immunol. ALL ASM JOURNALS

Copyright © 1998 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.