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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, July 1998, p. 531-536, Vol. 5, No. 4
Biosciences Division, CSL Limited, Parkville
3052, Victoria, Australia
Received 12 November 1997/Returned for modification 5 February
1998/Accepted 29 April 1998
A sensitive two-step simultaneous enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for
human gamma interferon (IFN-
1071-412X/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Development of a Human Gamma Interferon Enzyme Immunoassay and
Comparison with Tuberculin Skin Testing for Detection of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection
) has been developed and used as an in
vitro test for human tuberculosis (TB) in comparison with tuberculin
skin testing. The EIA was shown to be highly sensitive, detecting less
than 0.5 IU of recombinant human IFN-
per ml within a linear
detection range of 0.5 to 150 IU/ml. The assay was highly reproducible
and specific for native IFN-
. In addition, the assay detected
chimpanzee, orangutan, gibbon, and squirrel monkey IFN-
s. Cross-reactions with other human cytokines or with IFN-
s derived from mice, cattle, or Old World monkeys were not evident. The assay was
used to detect TB infection by incubating whole blood overnight with
human, avian, and bovine tuberculin purified protein derivatives
(PPDs), as well as positive (mitogen)- and negative-control preparations. The levels of IFN-
in plasma supernatants were then determined. Blood from 10 tuberculin skin test-positive
individuals responded predominantly to the human tuberculin PPD antigen
and to a lesser extent to bovine and avian PPD antigens. By contrast, blood from 10 skin test-negative individuals showed minimal responses or no response to any of the tuberculin PPDs. Detectable levels of
IFN-
were present in all blood samples stimulated with mitogen. In
vivo tuberculin reactivity was correlated with IFN-
responsiveness in vitro. These results support the further study of the blood culture-IFN-
EIA system as an alternative to skin testing for the
detection of human TB infection.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Biosciences
Division, CSL Limited, 45 Poplar Rd., Parkville 3052, Victoria,
Australia. Phone: 61 3 9389 1778. Fax: 61 3 9389 1224. E-mail:
sjones{at}csl.com.au.
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