A latex agglutination test using a recombinant nucleoprotein for detection of antibodies against avian influenza virus

A latex agglutination test (LAT) was developed for detecting antibodies against avian influenza virus. The recombinant avian influenza virus nucleoprotein expressed in Escherichia coli was purified, coupled with latex beads, and used as an antigen for the LAT. The LAT was capable of detecting anti-avian influenza virus antibodies irrespective of the avian-influenza subtype, and in most cases, the results correlated with the results of an agar gel precipitation test (AGPT). However, in comparison with the AGPT, the LAT could detect the anti-avian influenza virus antibodies for a longer period of time after the infection. The nonspecific agglutination observed in uninfected chicken sera was resolved by pretreating the sera with dried chicken-liver powder for 1 h. The LAT is easy to perform, and even after considering the time required for pretreatment of the serum, the total time required for obtaining the results is reduced in comparison to the time required in the case of the AGPT. This easy and rapid LAT is considered to be useful for monitoring avian influenza virus infection in the field.