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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, August 2005, p. 3925-3931, Vol. 43, No. 8
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.8.3925-3931.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Bifidobacterial Lipoglycan as a New Cause for False-Positive Platelia Aspergillus Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Reactivity

Departments of Medical Microbiology,¹ Pediatrics, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center,² Nijmegen University Center for Infectious Diseases, Nijmegen, The Netherlands,³ Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Domaine du CERTIA, 369 Rue Jules Guesde, 59650 Villeneuve d'Ascq, France,⁴ Department of Microbiology, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands⁵

Received 11 November 2004/ Returned for modification 24 January 2005/ Accepted 19 April 2005

We previously hypothesized that a lipoglycan of Bifidobacterium bifidum subsp. pennsylvanicum cross-reacts with the Platelia Aspergillus (PA) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on the presence of galactofuranosyl epitopes in the cell wall (M. A. S. H. Mennink-Kersten, R. R. Klont, A. Warris, H. J. M. Op den Camp, and P. E. Verweij, Lancet 363:325-327, 2004). We tested this hypothesis by testing bacterial suspensions of different bifidobacterial species and other gram-positive and -negative bacteria with the PA ELISA, which is used to detect circulating galactomannan for the serodiagnosis of invasive aspergillosis. Furthermore, neonatal fecal samples were enumerated for bifidobacteria by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and tested for PA ELISA reactivity. All bifidobacteria, except B. infantis and B. adolescentis, showed reactivity 6- to 600-fold higher compared to the controls (i.e., Micrococcus luteus and Propionibacterium freudenreichii, which contain a cell wall lipomannan). Eggerthella lenta showed a 25-fold-higher reactivity. ELISA reactivity was clearly shown to be associated with bacterial lipoglycans containing a ß-1,5-galactofuranosyl chain. All neonatal feces showed PA ELISA reactivity and associated numbers of bifidobacteria. Since high concentrations of bifidobacteria are present in the human gut, these bacteria or excreted lipoglycan may cause false serum PA ELISA reactivity in selected patient groups, especially neonates.

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