The development of a bead-based multiplex immunoassay for the detection of IgG antibodies to CMV and EBV.

Abstract

Latent infection with Cytomegalovirus (CMV) or Epstein-Bar virus (EBV) is associated with compromised immune responses. The commercially available ELISA-kits provide a semi-quantitative or qualitative detection of IgG antibodies against either CMV or EBV. To reduce the amount of sample needed and improve throughput and range of quantitation compared to ELISAs, a multiplex immunoassay (MIA) for the simultaneous quantitative detection of antibodies against CMV and two antigens of EBV (EBV capsid antigen (EBV-VCA) and EBV nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA-1)) was developed and standardized. Our assay shows a good correlation with the separate ELISAs, has a high specificity and is much more sensitive than the ELISAs. The MIA allows faster analysis of samples and can be combined with the MIA for detection of antibodies to measles, mumps, rubella and varicella zoster (MMRV) as published previously. In conclusion, the CMV-EBV MIA is a reliable assay that allows for more efficient detection of specific antibodies to CMV and EBV. This MIA therefore is especially useful for large-scale surveillance studies.