ASSAY OF HUMAN ANTI-EXOPROTEINS TO GROUP-A STREPTOCOCCI BY MICRO-HEMAGGLUTINATION - CORRELATION WITH ANTI-STREPTOLYSIN-O AND VARIOUS ANTI-ENZYMES

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. A129  (4) , 447-470
Abstract
A microhemagglutination test was devised for rapid, quantitative evaluation of anti-streptococcal antibodies in human sera. Fresh or freeze-dried glutaraldehyde-treated sheep erythrocytes sensitized with over 15 extracellular proteins released by group A Streptococcus pyogenes including streptolysin O, DNases, hyaluronidase (HA), streptokinase (SK) and nicotinamide dinucleotide glycohydrolase (NADase) were used. Hemagglutination and anti-streptolysin O (ASLO) titers were determined in parallel on 434 serum specimens from 123 healthy subjects (controls) and 311 patients with a history of supposed or evident streptococcal infection. The titration of the 4 abovementioned anti-enzyme antibodies [Ab] was made on about 100 sera from both groups. The hemagglutination titer (HT) was < 800 in control sera. It was > 800 up to 12,800 in patients'' specimens. Very good correlation was found between HT and ASLO or anti-SK, anti-HA and anti-NADase Ab. HT and anti-DNase B Ab were less correlated. HT appear to rise earlier than serological titers of conventional streptococcal Ab. The hemagglutination test described may be particularly helpful as a rapid serologic indicator of streptococcal infections and more reliable than the titration of ASLO alone or of anti-enzyme Ab.