Baldi P C, Araj G F, Racaro G C, Wallach J C, Fossati C A
Instituto de Estudios de la Inmunidad Humoral (IDEHU), 1113 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 1999 Sep;6(5):756-9. doi: 10.1128/CDLI.6.5.756-759.1999.
The diagnosis of human neurobrucellosis usually relies on the detection of antibodies to Brucella lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by agglutination tests or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Here we describe the detection of immunoglobulin G (IgG) to cytoplasmic proteins (CP) of Brucella spp. by ELISA and Western blotting in seven CSF samples from five patients with neurobrucellosis. While IgG to CP (titers of 200 to 12, 800) and IgG to LPS (800 to 6,400) were found in the CSF of these patients, these antibodies were not detected in CSF samples from two patients who had systemic brucellosis without neurological involvement. The latter, however, had serum IgG and IgM to both LPS and CP. No reactivity to these antigens was found in CSF samples from 14 and 20 patients suffering from nonbrucellar meningitis and noninfectious diseases, respectively. These findings suggest that, in addition to its usefulness in the serological diagnosis of human systemic brucellosis, the ELISA with CP antigen can be used for the specific diagnosis of human neurobrucellosis.
人类神经型布鲁氏菌病的诊断通常依靠通过凝集试验或酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）检测脑脊液（CSF）中抗布鲁氏菌脂多糖（LPS）的抗体。在此，我们描述了通过ELISA和蛋白质印迹法在5例神经型布鲁氏菌病患者的7份脑脊液样本中检测抗布鲁氏菌属细胞质蛋白（CP）的免疫球蛋白G（IgG）。虽然在这些患者的脑脊液中发现了抗CP的IgG（滴度为200至12,800）和抗LPS的IgG（800至6,400），但在2例患有无神经系统受累的全身性布鲁氏菌病患者的脑脊液样本中未检测到这些抗体。然而，后者血清中存在抗LPS和抗CP的IgG和IgM。在分别患有非布鲁氏菌性脑膜炎和非感染性疾病的14例和20例患者的脑脊液样本中未发现对这些抗原具有反应性。这些发现表明，除了在人类全身性布鲁氏菌病的血清学诊断中有用外，采用CP抗原的ELISA可用于人类神经型布鲁氏菌病的特异性诊断。
