Application and staining patterns of commercial anti-Pneumocystis carinii monoclonal antibodies.

Commercially available monoclonal antibodies to Pneumocystis carinii were compared with respect to immunofluorescence staining patterns of human immunodeficiency virus-inactivated smears. Only the indirect staining kits were suitable for application to ethanol-inactivated samples. When antibodies from Dakopatts and Northumbria were compared, the staining of cysts and trophozoites showed different patterns.