Donovania Granulomatis: Cultivation, Antigen Preparation, and Immunological Tests
Open Access
- 1 August 1948
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in The Journal of Immunology
- Vol. 59 (4) , 335-340
- https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.59.4.335
Abstract
Summary: Cultures of Donovania granulomatis (Anderson strain) grown in a Locke-embryonic-yolk medium have been used for preparation of several types of antigens. Bacterial suspensions and boiled filtrate antigens were used in complement fixation tests with sera of 88 individuals. The highest order of sensitivity and specificity was obtained with the latter preparation. Eighty-three per cent of 24 patients with verified granuloma inguinale gave positive reactions with this antigen. In sera from 28 cases of early syphilis, 6 positive tests, mostly weak in character, were obtained with the bacterial suspension antigen, and 5 with the control antigen. One weak (1+) non-specific reaction was obtained with the boiled filtrate antigen in this group. No positive tests were obtained with either the boiled filtrate or bacterial suspension antigens in 5 cases of lymphogranuloma venereum, 11 patients with miscellaneous genital lesions, and 20 healthy controls. Skin-tests with the two antigens have not yielded conclusive data. The bacterial suspension would appear to be a better test reagent than is the boiled filtrate antigen. Rabbits, immunized with heat-killed suspensions of Donovania granulomatis gave positive complement-fixation with both antigens but positive skin-tests with only the bacterial suspension. It is our opinion that serological studies and skin-tests employing both the bacterial suspension and boiled filtrate antigen would add to precise information regarding granuloma inguinale, especially if such tests were conducted at different stages of the disease. The boiled filtrate antigen is recommended because of the ease of preparation, the sensitivity, and the specificity exhibited in various other clinical conditions.Keywords
This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- IMMUNOLOGIC RELATIONSHIP OF DONOVANIA GRANULOMATIS TO GRANULOMA INGUINALEThe Journal of Experimental Medicine, 1945
- AN ETIOLOGIC CONSIDERATION OF DONOVANIA GRANULOMATIS CULTIVATED FROM GRANULOMA INGUINALE (THREE CASES) IN EMBRYONIC YOLKThe Journal of Experimental Medicine, 1945
- THE CULTIVATION FROM GRANULOMA INGUINALE OF A MICROORGANISM HAVING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF DONOVAN BODIES IN THE YOLK SAC OF CHICK EMBRYOSScience, 1943