Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
9279470 Journal of Virological Methods 2005 6 Pages PDF
Abstract
The recombinant nucleocapsid protein (rNP) of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (SARS-CoV) was expressed in a baculovirus system. The purified SARS-CoV rNP was used as an antigen for detection of SARS-CoV antibodies in IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The ELISA was evaluated in comparison with neutralizing antibody assay and the authentic SARS-CoV antigen-based IgG ELISA. Two-hundred and seventy-six serum samples were collected from health care workers in a hospital in which a nosocomial SARS outbreak took place and used for evaluation. The SARS-CoV rNP-based IgG ELISA has 92% of sensitivity and specificity compared with the neutralizing antibody assay and 94% sensitivity and specificity compared with the authentic SARS-CoV antigen-based IgG ELISA. The results suggest that the newly developed SARS-CoV rNP-based IgG ELISA is a valuable tool for the diagnosis and seroepidemiological study of SARS. The SARS-CoV rNP-based IgG ELISA has an advantage over the conventional IgG ELISA in that the antigen can be prepared by laboratory workers without the risk of infection.
Related Topics
Life Sciences Immunology and Microbiology Virology
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