APPLICATION TO IMMUNOGLOBULIN-M CAPTURE HEMADHERENCE ASSAYS OF HEMAGGLUTINATION OF MONKEY ERYTHROCYTES BY NATIVE AND RECOMBINANT HUMAN PARVOVIRUS B19 ANTIGENS

Human parvovirus B19 recently was shown to agglutinate baboon and huma n erythrocytes. We have now demonstrated that both recombinant and nat ive B19 antigens agglutinate rhesus, cynomolgus, and Saimiri monkey er ythrocytes. Using cynomolgus erythrocytes and the recombinant antigen, we developed an immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody capture hemadherence test (MACHAT) for the detection of specific B19 IgM antibodies in huma n sera. The results obtained with MACHAT were compared with those obta ined with an IgM capture enzyme immunoassay (MACEIA) employing the nat ive antigen routinely used in our laboratory. For 229 patient serum sa mples, we found 96% agreement between the results of the two assays. T here was some evidence that MACHAT was slightly more sensitive than MA CEIA. Our results add to the range of erythrocytes that can be aggluti nated by B19 vines and show that native as well as recombinant antigen s may be used in MACHAT.