MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODY CAPTURE ENZYME-IMMUNOASSAY FOR DETECTION OF PARACOCCIDIOIDES-BRASILIENSIS ANTIBODIES IN PARACOCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS

Four murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs 17C, 21A, 21F, and 32B) raised against the 43-kDa glycoprotein of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis were tested in a capture enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the detection of specific human anti-gp43 immunoglobulin G in patients with paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM). All MAbs reacted similarly in the assay. These MAbs, which detected anti-gp43 at levels of as low as 500 pg/ml, were demonstrated to specifically recognize at least two different epitopes in gp43 binding assays. Specific antibodies in the sera of patients with active PCM were detected at dilutions of as high as 1:819,200, and the reactivities of patient sera, as measured by optical densities, were found to be significantly higher than those of control sera. The comparison between classical ELISA and our capture enzyme immunoassay showed that both sensitivity and specificity were greatly improved by the latter. These MAbs represent the first specific reagents to P. brasiliensis described for use in serological tests for PCM.