Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, March 2001, p. 273-278, Vol. 8, No. 2
Pediatric, Adolescent, and Maternal AIDS Branch, National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development,
Bethesda,1 Westat,
Rockville,2 and Department of
Pediatrics, University of Maryland, Baltimore,5
Maryland; Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Department of
Pediatrics of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania3; Division of
Adolescent Medicine, Cook County Hospital, Chicago,
Illinois4; and Department of
Geographic Medicine, University of Alabama, Birmingham,
Alabama6
Received 28 June 2000/Returned for modification 31 August
2000/Accepted 27 November 2000
We examined the performance of delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH)
antigens employing a new Candida albicans product in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and nonanergic adolescent population. Diameters of induration (in millimeters) for three intradermally applied antigens (C. albicans, tetanus
toxoid, and mumps) were compared in a population of HIV-infected 12 to
18 year olds at study entry in a national multicenter study of HIV disease progression. CD4+ T-cell counts were measured in
quality-controlled laboratories. The influence of past immunization,
gender, and clinical status on antigen reactivity was evaluated with
contingency table comparisons and relative risk estimation. Nearly
one-half of the 123 eligible subjects were untreated, and almost
three-quarters were early in HIV disease by clinical indicators. There
was no statistically significant difference in reactivity by past
immunization status. Candida antigen (CASTA; Greer Laboratories) evoked
DTH response in a significantly higher number of males and females at
every level of induration (largest P value, 0.049 for male
comparisons; all P values, <0.001 for females) and in
subjects with early and intermediate HIV disease at every level of
induration (all P values, <0.0001) than either tetanus or
mumps antigens. No two-antigen combination was as useful as all three
antigens across either gender or clinical categories, although candida
and tetanus was the most useful two-antigen combination at indurations
of <3 mm. The superior performance of a new C. albicans
antigen may extend the utility of DTH assessment in monitoring immune function.
1071-412X/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.8.2.273-278.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Performance of Antigens Used in Detecting
Delayed-Type Hypersensitivity in Adolescents Infected with the
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address:
PAMAB/CRMC/NICHD, 6100 Executive Blvd, Room 4B11 MSC 7510, Bethesda, MD 20892-7510. Phone: (301) 435-6873. Fax: (301) 496-8678. E-mail: ar44n{at}nih.gov.
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»