Detection of LipL32-specific IgM by ELISA in sera of patients with a clinical diagnosis of leptospirosis

• Published in: Pathogens and global health 2013-04, Vol.107 (3), p.130-135
• Main Authors: Vedhagiri, Kumaresan, Velineni, Sridhar, Timoney, John F, Shanmughapriya, Santhanam, Vijayachari, Paluru, Narayanan, Ramasamy, Natarajaseenivasan, Kalimuthusamy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Antibodies, Bacterial - blood; Antigens, Bacterial - genetics; Antigens, Bacterial - isolation & purification; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins - genetics; Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins - isolation & purification; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; Clinical Laboratory Techniques - methods; Early Diagnosis; ELISA; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - methods; Female; General aspects; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; IgM; Immunoglobulin M - blood; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infectious diseases; Leptospira interrogans; Leptospira interrogans - genetics; Leptospira interrogans - immunology; Leptospirosis; Leptospirosis - diagnosis; LipL32; Lipoproteins - genetics; Lipoproteins - isolation & purification; Male; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Original; Outer membrane protein; Pregnancy; Recombinant Proteins - genetics; Recombinant Proteins - isolation & purification; Sensitivity and Specificity
• ISSN: 2047-7724; 2047-7732
• DOI: 10.1179/2047773213Y.0000000088

Successful treatment of leptospirosis is heavily dependent on early diagnosis and prompt initiation of antibiotic therapy. An ELISA test to detect specific IgM antibodies against LipL32 for early diagnosis of leptospirosis is described and evaluated here. One thousand one hundred and eighty sera from clinically suspected leptospirosis cases were enrolled together with 109 healthy volunteers selected from an endemic area between October 2007 and January 2010. Patients were categorized based on their clinical signs and symptoms. Sera were screened for leptospiral antibodies by the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) using a panel of locally circulating serovars followed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on recombinant LipL32 from Leptospira interrogans serovar Autumnalis strain N2. The sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA test were determined to establish its diagnostic efficiency. The cut-off value was determined to be 0·205. Overall sensitivity and specificity compared to the MAT were found to be 96·4 and 90·4%, respectively. The LipL32-specific IgM ELISA had good sensitivity and acceptable specificity and may be a candidate for the early serodiagnosis of human leptospirosis.