Detection and titration of human herpesvirus-8-specific antibodies in sera from blood donors, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients, and Kaposi's sarcoma patients using a whole virus enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

• Published in: Blood 1998-07, Vol.92 (1), p.53-58
• Main Authors: CHATLYNNE, L. G, LAPPS, W, GILL, P. S, WHITMAN, J. E, ABLASHI, D. V, HANDY, M, HUANG, Y. Q, MASOOD, R, HAMILTON, A. S, SAID, J. W, KOEFFLER, H. P, KAPLAN, M. H, FRIEDMAN-KIEN, A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - blood; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - immunology; Adult; AIDS/HIV; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Antibodies, Viral - immunology; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Donors; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Herpesviridae Infections - blood; Herpesviridae Infections - immunology; Herpesvirus 8, Human - immunology; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Medical sciences; Sarcoma, Kaposi - blood; Sarcoma, Kaposi - diagnosis; Sarcoma, Kaposi - immunology; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids
• ISSN: 0006-4971; 1528-0020
• DOI: 10.1182/blood.v92.1.53.413k30_53_58

A human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with a whole virus lysate as antigen was developed and used to measure the seroprevalence rate and levels of IgG antibodies to HHV-8 in sera/plasma of various patient groups and blood donors. The virus antigen was prepared from the KS-1 cell line, which produces lytic virus, and therefore contains a broad array of viral proteins. Seroprevalence studies using this ELISA showed the following: 10 of 91 blood donors (11%) had an average HHV-8 antibody titer of 118; 67 of 72 (93%) classic Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) patients were positive with an average titer of 14,111; and 57 of 62 (92%) KS/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients were positive with an average titer of 4,000. A study on a very limited number of serial serum samples from patients before and after diagnosis with KS showed highly elevated antibody titers to HHV-8 virus after KS lesions developed. Preliminary data show that 50% of the sera from HIV-1(+) homosexual patients contain IgG antibodies to HHV-8 suggesting that this population is at high risk for developing KS. Antibody results correlated well with the confirmatory immunofluorescent assays (IFA) using KS-1 cells as the substrate. This HHV-8 IgG antibody detection ELISA is sensitive and specific and does not cross-react with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) or other human herpesviruses. The results of this HHV-8 antibody survey suggest that this rapid ELISA assay can be used to screen large numbers of sera to find those at risk for developing KS.