IMMUNODIAGNOSIS OF INVASIVE PULMONARY ASPERGILLOSIS IN RABBITS - FUNGAL ANTIGEN DETECTED BY RADIOIMMUNOASSAY IN BRONCHOALVEOLAR LAVAGE FLUID

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Abstract
To improve antemortem diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, radioimmunoassay was used to detect an Aspergillus fumigatus antigen in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). This technique was evaluated in a model of disseminated aspergillosis. Antigen was detected in 91% of BALF samples obtained from 11 rabbits with major pulmonary aspergillosis. In an additional 10 rabbits with only minor pulmonary involvement, antigen was detected in 40% of concentrated lavage samples. Antigen-like activity was found in only 1 of 17 BALF samples from control animals with systemic candidiasis, in none of 9 control animals with staphylococcal pneumonia and in none of 10 normal control animals. Although antigen was present in the serum of 76% of animals infected with Aspergillus, 27% of those with major pulmonary involvement had antigen detected in BALF alone. An extracellular microbial antigen evidently can be detected in BALF. This technique in the disseminated aspergillosis model is both sensitive and specific for invasive pulmonary disease.

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