COMPETITIVE ENZYME LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY (C-ELISA) FOR THE DETECTION OF A FLAVIVIRUS SPECIFIC ANTIBODY

摘要

A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (C-ELISA), using flavivirus member specific immunological agents was developed to detect antibody specific to members of the flaviviruses indicative of exposure to flavivirus. The test is based on a competition for epitope binding on the envelope protein of the flavivirus antigen captured using anti-flavivirus IgA in the presence of flavivirus positive serum. This test has comparable sensitivity specificity and speed to the virus neutralization assay (VNT). C-ELISA is a versatile technique, which could have various applications. Slight modifications of this protocol could lead to a C-ELISA-based detection method of secondary infection or one that could be used for serotype specific sero-epidemiological studies and/or vaccine evaluation. The protocol developed for C-ELISA was demonstrated using dengue lysate antigen and dengue specific monoclonal antibody. This can be used against other flaviviruses and the results for Japanese encephalitis illustrates this.