This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Rogers, A. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Rogers, A. S.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, March 2001, p. 273-278, Vol. 8, No. 2
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

Audrey Smith Rogers,1,* Jonas H. Ellenberg,2 Steven D. Douglas,3 Lisa Henry-Reid,4 Ligia Peralta,5 Craig M. Wilson,6 and The Adolescent Medicine HIV/AIDS Research Network

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.


* 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.


Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, March 2001, p. 273-278, Vol. 8, No. 2
1071-412X/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.8.2.273-278.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.