[Quantification of total IgE on microtiter plates by enzyme immunoassay]. / Cuantificación de IgE total en placas microtiter por enzimo-inmunoensayo.

This work describes an immunoenzymatic method for the detection of total IgE in human sera. The assay is performed using specially formulated microtiter plates as solid phase (Dynatech microElisa). This facilitates the dispensing of the reagents, the washing steps and the reading of the results. The whole assay is done using commercially available reagents. This guarantees the high specificity and reliability of the test as well as the low interassay variation. The method uses 10 micro liters of human serum and is performed in two work days. IgE levels ranging between 10 and 1000 I.U./ml can be accurately assayed without modifications of the test volumes. The microplate test, when compared with other methods, has an additional advantage: the absorbance values of the wells can be processed by a microcomputer. The method has been compared with a commercial kit (EnzygnostTM) and the correlation found in 150 cases was excellent (r = 0.983). Using this method, we have assayed more than one thousand sera with very satisfactory results. In addition, the cost of each test has been reduced by 75%.

[Intraepithelial lymphocytes in celiac disease]. / Linfocitos intraepiteliales en la enfermedad celíaca.

Coeliac disease (CD) is a permanent intolerance to gluten that provokes alterations in the mucosa of the small intestine. The disease can usually be controlled by excluding gluten from the diet. CD is immunologically-mediated, with a strong linkage to certain HLA alleles and a permanently altered intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) pattern. The development of a flow cytometric technique for the evaluation of IEL subsets has increased our understanding of these alterations and has prepared the ground for its clinical application. Our experience shows that this procedure has excellent sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of CD and that it is particularly useful in the evaluation of atypical presentations of the disease. The present article reviews our experience in the diagnosis of CD and discusses some of the hypotheses that have been put forward on the possible role of IEL in its pathogenesis.