Diagnosis of viral central nervous system infections using antipeptide antibody against viral antigen by ELISA.

Viral infections of the central nervous system (CNS) occur sporadically and have been extensively studied because of the potential for permanent neurological damage or death. The neurotropic viruses have been reported to lead to various CNS infections. The objective of the present study is to develop an antigen detection ELISA protocol for detection and quantification of viral antigen in CNS infections by assessing the usefulness of antipeptide antibodies against potential peptides of cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), varicella zoster virus (VZV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), dengue (DENV), West Nile virus (WNV) and Chandipura virus (CHPV). A total of 182 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from confirmed, suspected and non-viral infections of the CNS were evaluated using panels of antipeptide antibodies against synthetic peptides of viral proteins. The cases of confirmed and suspected viral infections of the CNS showed 77% and 11% positivity, respectively, for the detection of viral antigen using antipeptide against synthetic peptides of CMV, EBV, VZV and JEV. The concentration of viral antigen was also obtained by using antipeptide of respective viruses in CSF from both the groups. The viral antigen concentration was also correlated with viral load in confirmed cases of viral infection of the CNS. This study demonstrates the use of antipeptide against synthetic peptide derived from CMV, EBV, VZV and JEV in diagnostics of viral infections of the CNS using patients' CSF samples. Keywords: viral infection of the CNS; synthetic peptide; antipeptide antibody; viral load; antigen concentration.