Fang C T, Nath N, Berberian H, Dodd R Y
J Immunol Methods. 1978;24(3-4):371-5. doi: 10.1016/0022-1759(78)90140-0.
A highly sensitive technique for determining the subtype specificity of antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) is described. Immunoadsorbent consisting of controlled pore glass coated with subtype specific HBsAg was used to remove homologous antibody from the test samples before testing them for residual antibody by a commercially available radioimmunoassay (RIA). A total of 73 anti-HBs-positive samples from asymptomatic blood donors were tested. In nearly 80% of these samples the subtype reactivity could be determined by this technique. Only 67% could be typed by conventional liquid phase absorption RIA and 22% by passive hemagglutination inhibition techniques. Among the samples with low anti-HBs titer, ad and ay subtypes were found with equal frequency; however, with the increase in anti-HBs titer, considerably higher proportion of ad specificity was detected.
