Fluorescence polarization assay for the detection of antibodies to Mycobacterium bovis in bovine sera.

The performance of a fluorescence polarization assay (FPA) that detects antibodies to Mycobacterium bovis in bovine sera is described. The FPA reported here is a direct binding primary screening assay using a small polypeptide derived from the M. bovis MPB70 protein. A secondary inhibition assay confirms suspect or presumed positive samples. Specificity studies involved five different veterinary laboratories testing 4461 presumed negative bovine samples. FPA specificity was 99.9%. The FPA was used to identify herd status as either M. bovis infected or non-infected. Herd surveillance studies (nine herds) were performed in Mexico and South Africa. The FPA had a specificity of 100% (two negative herds), and correctly identified six of seven infected herds. Finally, sera from 105 slaughter animals that had gross lesions in lymph nodes similar to those seen with bovine tuberculosis were tested by the FPA. Thin sections from the associated formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples of lymph nodes were stained using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) for morphologic examination and using the Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) method for detection of acid-fast bacilli. Of the 105 animals, 78 were classified as TB suspect based on lesion morphology, 21 were positive by ZN, 9 were positive by FPA and 13 were positive by PCR for the tuberculosis group of Mycobacterium. Among the 21 ZN positives, 11 (52.4%) were PCR positive. Among the 9 FPA positives, 8 (88.9%) were PCR positive. For the 13 PCR positives, 8 (61.5%) were FPA positive and 11 (84.6%) were ZN positives. These results show that use of the FPA for detection of M. bovis infection of cattle has value for bovine disease surveillance programs.

Mapping of two antigenic domains on the NS3 protein of the pestivirus bovine viral diarrhea virus.

The immunodominant NS3 (p80) protein of the pestivirus bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) functions as a serine protease and a RNA helicase. To identify antigenic domains of the BVDV NS3, a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) was tested against fragments of the protein expressed in E. coli. Two large overlapping NS3 fragments, A (amino acids [aa] 1-434) and B (aa 368-683) which together contain all NS3 sequences, were used to screen mAbs for reactivity. Two mAbs, 21.5.8 and 1.11.3, were reactive to fragment A (in ELISA only) and one mAb, 20.10.6, was reactive to fragment B (in ELISA and Western blotting). Further mapping demonstrated that the smallest fragment mAbs 21.5.8 and 1.11.3 bound to was comprised of aa 205-369 (domain A). In Western blotting, the smallest fragment reactive with mAb 20.10.6 was comprised of aa 368-549 (domain B). However, in indirect ELISA, mAb 20.10.6 also demonstrated high reactivity to a smaller fragment comprising aa 368-512 (domain B'). This indicated that the epitope of mAb 20.10.6 was conformational and not linear. Blocking ELISAs using these mAbs and type 1 and type 2 BVDV antisera demonstrated that an immunodominant region of the NS3 protein in cattle is defined by aa 205-549.

The use of fluorescence polarization assays for the detection of infectious diseases.

Fluorescence Polarization Assays (FPAs) have been shown to have great utility in the detection of infectious diseases. Examples are presented of the use of O-polysaccharides (OPSs) for the detection of antibodies in serum, whole milk and whole blood to gram negative organisms (Brucella spp., Salmonella spp.). The use of proteins and peptides are also described for the detection of Mycobacterium bovis and Equine Infectious Anemia Virus. Fluorescence Polarization Inhibition Assays (FPIAs) are discussed for the specific and sensitive detection and quantitation of Salmonella spp. cells from culture. An example of the detection of enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHECS) by Strand Displacement Amplification (SDA), coupled with FP, down to the single cell level, within thirty minutes, is described.

Fluorescence polarization (FP) assays for the determination of grain mycotoxins (fumonisins, DON vomitoxin and aflatoxins).

Successful use of fluorescence polarization assays (FPAs) in human clinical, infectious disease, and drug discovery fields has prompted us to extend its use to the grain mycotoxin field. An antibody specific to a mycotoxin and a mycotoxin-fluorophore conjugate are developed. Free toxin (extracted from the grains with a suitable solvent) competes with the toxin-fluorophore conjugate for the antibody and a change in FP relative to the quantity of free toxin occurs. This change is compared to a standard curve obtained by using known quantities of toxin. The use of FP and toxin-fluorophore conjugates for the quantification of fumonisins, deoxynivalenol and aflatoxins is described. These assays are field portable, simple to perform, rapid and require no washing steps.

A fluorescence polarization assay for the detection of antibodies to Mycobacterium bovis in cattle sera.

A fluorescence polarization assay (FPA) utilizing fluorescein-labelled MPB70 protein as the antigen was developed and evaluated for its ability to detect antibodies to Mycobacterium bovis in cattle sera. Three panels of sera were examined in this study. These included: (A) sera (n=28) obtained from cattle from which M. bovis was cultured; (B) sera (n=5666) from Canadian field cattle which were presumed to be free from M. bovis; (C) sera (n=10) from cattle infected with Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and known to contain antibodies to this organism. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis of the results of panels A and B yielded an area under the curve value of 0.975 (95% confidence interval=0.971-0.979), which indicated that this FPA is an accurate indicator of M. bovis infection. At the cut-off point recommended by the ROC curve analysis, the FPA sensitivity and specificity estimates were 92.9% (95% confidence interval=76.5-98.9%) and 98.3% (95% confidence interval=97.9-98.6%) respectively. The FPA results were compared to the results of the single intradermal (SID) test for the 28 infected cattle. Fifteen of these animals were scored positive with the SID test (sensitivity=53.6%). The FPA detected 15/15 (100%) of the SID test-positive animals and 11/13 (84.6%) of the SID test-negative animals. Two of the culture-positive cattle were not detected by either test. None of the sera that were obtained from the M. paratuberculosis-infected animals cross-reacted in this assay.

Development of a fluorescence polarization assay for the determination of aflatoxins in grains.

Aflatoxins produced by Aspergillus flavus are commonly found in human and animal foods including grains, cereals, peanut products, sorghum, and soy seeds. Exposure to aflatoxins has been associated with carcinogenicity. This paper reports a simple, portable, and rapid fluorescence polarization (FP) assay for aflatoxin determination in grains. This immunoassay is field portable, homogeneous, and without any washing and cleaning steps. The assay is based upon the competition between free aflatoxin and an aflatoxin-fluorescein tracer for an aflatoxin-specific monoclonal antibody in solution. A series of naturally contaminated corn, sorghum, peanut butter, and peanut paste samples were analyzed by FP and compared with HPLC results. Similarly, spiked popcorn samples were analyzed by FP. FP results of naturally contaminated samples correlated well with HPLC (r (2) = 0.97). FP analysis of spiked popcorn samples (with a mixture of B(1)/B(2)/G(1)/G(2), 7/1/3/1, w/w) gave a good correlation with spiked values (r (2) = 0.99). However, FP consistently underestimated the aflatoxin contents. This was perhaps due to low cross-reactivity of the antibody used toward B(2), G(1), and G(2) aflatoxins. These results combined with the portability and simplicity of the assay suggest that the assay can be used for screening total aflatoxin in grains.

Serologic detection of experimental Salmonella enteritidis infections in laying hens by fluorescence polarization and enzyme immunoassay.

Detection of infected poultry flocks is essential for controlling eggborne transmission of Salmonella enteritidis to humans. The present study evaluated the detection of antibodies in the sera of experimentally infected chickens by a fluorescence polarization assay with a tracer prepared from the O-polysaccharide of S. enteritidis and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with an S. enteritidis flagellin antigen. In two trials, groups of specific-pathogen-free laying hens were infected orally with either 10(6) or 10(8) colony-forming units (CFU) of S. enteritidis (phage type 13a) or with 10(8) CFU of Salmonella typhimurium. Serum samples were collected before inoculation and at five subsequent weekly intervals. Both assays successfully detected the majority of hens infected with S. enteritidis at either dose level, but they also identified a substantial number of hens infected with S. typhimurium as seropositive. The fluorescence polarization test detected S. enteritidis infection significantly more often and cross-reacted with sera from hens infected with S. typhimurium significantly less often than the ELISA. The fluorescence polarization assay also offered advantages in terms of speed and methodologic simplicity.

Lead analysis by anti-chelate fluorescence polarization immunoassay.

Lead concentrations were determined by a fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) method that uses polyclonal antibodies raised against the lead(II) chelate of ethylenediamine-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EDTA). The technique is based on competition for a fixed concentration of antibody binding sites between Pb-EDTA, formed by treating the sample with excess EDTA, and a fixed concentration of a fluorescent analogue of the Pb-EDTA complex. The objective was to correlate results obtained by FPIA with those produced by conventional atomic spectroscopy analysis of soils, solid waste leachates (produced by the Toxicity Characteristic Leachate Procedure; TCLP), airborne dust, and drinking water. Linear regression analysis of FPIA results for 138 soil samples containing 0-3094 ppm Pb(II) by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy and 40 TCLP extracts containing 0-668 ppm Pb(II) by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy produced correlation coefficients (r2) of 0.96 and 0.93, respectively. Pilot studies of mineral acid extracts of airborne dust trapped on fiberglass filters and of two sources of drinking water demonstrated the feasibility of also measuring lead in these matrixes by FPIA. The limit of detection under conditions that minimized sample dilution was approximately 1 ppb, and cross reactivity with 15 nontarget metals was below 0.5% in all cases. The methods are simple to perform and are amenable to field testing and mobile laboratory use, allowing timely and cost-effective characterization of suspected sources of lead contamination.