Four-antigen mixture containing v-cyclin for serological screening of human herpesvirus 8 infection

Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2009 May;16(5):621-7. doi: 10.1128/CVI.00474-08. Epub 2009 Mar 4.

Abstract

Improved diagnostic reagents and testing are currently needed for the serological detection of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) infections. We evaluated the luciferase immunoprecipitation systems (LIPS) for profiling antibody responses to a panel of HHV-8 proteins for diagnosis of Kaposi sarcoma (KS)-infected individuals. Using a pilot serum set, LIPS detected robust antibody responses to several known antigens, and a screen of 14 additional HHV-8 proteins identified v-cyclin as a potentially new diagnostic antigen. In evaluating a training-serum set, a four-antigen panel (K8.1, v-cyclin, ORF65, and a LANA fragment) was found to provide sufficient information for diagnosis. Analysis of a validation serum set using the combined results from these four separate antigen tests showed 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Furthermore, a LIPS format using a mixture of the four antigens, which simplifies data collection and analysis, closely matched the diagnostic performance of the combined separate tests (R = 0.95). This four-antigen mixture format analyzed with the validation serum set also showed 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity but was not statistically different from two separate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (94% sensitivity and 100% specificity) using baculovirus-produced LANA and bacterially produced K8.1. Heat map analysis of KS patient antibody titers revealed marked heterogeneity in humoral responses to this four-antigen panel. Overall, the LIPS assay showed 97% sensitivity, and positive anti-v-cyclin antibodies were detected in approximately 75% of the KS sera. These results suggest that LIPS screening using an antigen mixture is a sensitive and high-throughput method for serological screening of HHV-8 infection in individuals with KS.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Viral / blood*
  • Antigens, Viral*
  • Herpesvirus 8, Human / immunology*
  • Humans
  • Mass Screening / methods*
  • Sarcoma, Kaposi / diagnosis*
  • Sarcoma, Kaposi / virology
  • Sensitivity and Specificity

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Antigens, Viral