World Health Organisation--supervised interlaboratory comparison of ELISAs for the serological detection of Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis in chickens

Peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length is associated with survival of sepsis patients

Shorter peripheral blood leukocyte (PBL) telomere length (TL) has been associated with poor outcomes in various chronic lung diseases. Whether PBL-TL is associated with survival from critical illness was tested in this study.We analysed data from a prospective observational cohort study of 937 critically ill patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). PBL-TL was measured using quantitative PCR of DNA isolated from PBLs. Findings were validated in an independent cohort of 394 critically ill patients with sepsis admitted to the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).In the VUMC cohort, shorter PBL-TL was associated with worse 90-day survival (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.6 per 1 kb TL decrease; p=0.004); in subgroup analyses, shorter PBL-TL was associated with worse 90-day survival for patients with sepsis (aHR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2-2.0 per 1 kb TL decrease; p=0.001), but not trauma. Although not associated with development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), among ARDS subjects, shorter PBL-TL was associated with more severe ARDS (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2-2.5 per 1 kb TL decrease; p=0.006). The associations of PBL-TL with survival (adjusted HR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.1 per 1 kb TL decrease; p=0.003) and risk for developing severe ARDS (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.1-6.3 per 1 kb TL decrease; p=0.044) were validated in the UCSF cohort.Short PBL-TL is strongly associated with worse survival and more severe ARDS in critically ill patients, especially patients with sepsis. These findings suggest that telomere dysfunction may contribute to outcomes from critical illness.

Interlaboratory and between-specimen comparisons of diagnostic tests for leptospirosis in sheep and cattle

A study was performed to investigate interlaboratory test agreement between a research and a commercial veterinary diagnostic laboratory on blood and urine samples, and to investigate test agreement between blood, urine, and kidney samples (research laboratory) for leptospirosis diagnosis. Samples were sourced from 399 sheep and 146 beef cattle from a local abattoir. Interlaboratory agreement for real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) results on urine samples was almost perfect (kappa = 0.90), despite the use of different amplification targets (DNA gyrase subunit B gene vs. 16s ribosomal RNA gene), chemistries (SYTO9 vs. TaqMan probe), and pre-PCR processing. Interlaboratory agreement for microscopic agglutination test (MAT) positivity was almost perfect (kappa = 0.93) for Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo subtype Hardjobovis (Hardjobovis) but moderate (kappa = 0.53) for Leptospira interrogans serovar Pomona (Pomona). Among animals that had different titers recorded, higher Hardjobovis and lower Pomona titers were reported by the commercial laboratory than by the research laboratory (P < 0.005). These interlaboratory comparisons can assist researchers and diagnosticians in interpreting the sometimes discrepant test results. Within the research laboratory, the comparison of qPCR results on urine and kidney showed almost perfect agreement (kappa = 0.84), suggesting that the qPCR on these 2 specimens can be used interchangeably. The agreement between MAT positivity and urine and kidney qPCR results was fair (kappa = 0.32 and kappa = 0.33, respectively). However, the prevalence ratio of urine and kidney qPCR positivity in Hardjobovis-seropositive versus Hardjobovis-seronegative sheep indicated that Hardjobovis seropositivity found in sheep may be able to predict shedding or renal carriage.

Detection of experimental Salmonella enteritidis and S. typhimurium infections in laying hens by fluorescence polarization assay for egg yolk antibodies

Identifying infected laying flocks is a critical component in efforts to prevent eggborne transmission of Salmonella enteritidis to humans. In the present study, egg yolk samples from experimentally infected chickens were tested for specific antibodies with a very rapid fluorescence polarization assay using tracers prepared from the O-polysaccharides of S. enteritidis and S. typhimurium and a conventional ELISA using an S. enteritidis flagellin antigen. In two trials, groups of specific-pathogen-free laying hens were infected orally with 106 or 10(8) cfu of S. enteritidis (phage type 13a) or with 10(8) cfu of S. typhimurium. Eggs were collected during five weekly postinoculation intervals. Both fluorescence polarization and ELISA detected the majority of hens infected with S. enteritidis at either dose level, although they also frequently cross-reacted with samples from hens infected with S. typhimurium. Fluorescence polarization with an S. typhimurium tracer was likewise able to consistently detect S. typhimurium infection but also tended to cross-react with samples from hens infected with S. enteritidis. Fluorescence polarization appears to offer a simple and rapid alternative to conventional serological methodology, although concerns about specificity may limit the usefulness of antibody testing data.

Surface plasmon resonance (BIACORE) detection of serum antibodies against Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium

We have used a surface plasmon resonance biosensor (BIACORE 3000) to detect serum antibodies in chickens having current or recent infections. Three well-defined Salmonella flagellar recombinant DNA antigens reflecting Salmonella enteritidis (H:g,m flagellin) and Salmonella typhimurium (H:i and H:1,2 flagellins) expressed in Escherichia coli were each immobilized in a single flow cell of a biosensor chip. Glutathione-S-transferase was immobilized on the surface of another flow cell to monitor non-specific binding. Sera collected from chickens with no history of Salmonella infection, and from chickens infected with Salmonella serotypes infantis, pullorum, gallinarum were used to test the performance of the system. The sensitivity exhibited to a range up to 900 arbitrary response units (RU) for the most positive S. typhimurium serum at a dilution of 1/40. Sera from Salmonella infantis, Salmonella pullorum and Salmonella gallinarum infected birds gave responses less than the cut-off point, which was determined as the averaged response of sera from specific pathogen-free chickens plus three times the standard deviation. A positive response was obtained when these sera and whole blood were fortified with S. enteritidis and S. typhimurium positive serum. The sensitivity, specificity, precision and reproducibility obtained suggested that this approach could be used for detecting past or present infection with a range of pathogens in animals.

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.

New technology for regiospecific covalent coupling of polysaccharide antigens in ELISA for serological detection

In this study we demonstrate a new UV irradiation technique for covalent coupling of bacterial polysaccharides derived from lipopolysaccharides to microtiter plates and the use of such plates in an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Lipopolysaccharides were cleaved by mild acid hydrolysis into the lipid A part and the polysaccharide part. The polysaccharide was conjugated regiospecifically to a photochemically active compound, anthraquinone, resulting in a polysaccharide-anthraquinone conjugate. Anthraquinones forms active radicals when exposed to soft UV irradiation (350 nm) permitting the formation of stable covalent bonds to polymers e.g. microtiter plates. By this technique the polysaccharides are bound through the anthraquinone part of the polysaccharide-anthraquinone conjugates to the microtiter plates. This minimizes denaturation of O-antigen epitopes during binding to the microtiter plates and avoids cross-reactivity due to conserved domains in the lipid A. Furthermore, the covalent binding of the polysaccharide antigens are compatible with harsh assay conditions, such as extensive washing procedures and buffers with high salt concentrations with no risk of antigen leakage. Here we describe the use of this technique for the immobilization of lipopolysaccharide derived polysaccharides from Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Choleraesuis lipopolysaccharides, representing the O-antigens 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 12. The functional polysaccharide surface gave similar ELISA results to plates coated passively with the corresponding unmodified lipopolysaccharide antigens. The plates were highly reproducible, showed very low inter- and intra-plate variation and were stable at room temperature for more than 8 months.

Evaluation of a novel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of antibodies against Salmonella, employing a stable coating of lipopolysaccharide-derived antigens covalently attached to polystyrene microwells

Polysaccharides derived from Salmonella typhimurium lipopolysaccharide (LPS) representing the O-antigen factors 1, 4, 5, and 12 and the O-antigen factors 6 and 7 from Salmonella choleraesuis LPS were derivatized with the photoreactive compound anthraquinone and subsequently covalently coupled to microtiter polystyrene plates by ultraviolet irradiation. Both polysaccharide antigens could be coupled simultaneously to the same microtiter plate. The coated surface was used in indirect ELISA for the determination of serum antibodies from pigs infected with bacteria of the two Salmonella groups and from uninfected pigs. This ELISA proved itself by having a good long-term durability and a high degree of reproducibility, including low day-to-day variations and low interplate variations. Furthermore, the ELISA showed good specificity and sensitivity when data were compared with the optical density levels of a panel of pig sera as determined by a conventional ELISA on the basis of passive coating of the two Salmonella LPS antigens (the mix-ELISA). The covalent anthraquinone mix-ELISA shows promise as a stable and durable alternative to the existing conventional ELISA for serological surveillance of Salmonella infections in pigs.

Interpretations of antibody responses to Salmonella enterica serotype enteritidis gm flagellin in poultry flocks are enhanced by a kinetics-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

Many regulatory and diagnostic programs for the detection of Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis infection in commercial poultry flocks have relied on rapid Pullorum agglutination tests to screen birds because of the shared antigens of S. enterica Enteritidis and S. enterica Pullorum and Gallinarum; however, the use of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) format affords better analytical sensitivity than crude agglutination tests. In this study, we adapted our earlier conventional indirect ELISA, using gm flagellin as the antigen, to a kinetics-based, computer-controlled ELISA (KELA). The KELA was used to screen for flagellin antibody from three commercial flocks: (i) a large flock involved in a U.S. Department of Agriculture trace back from a human S. enterica Enteritidis foodborne outbreak (n = 3,209), (ii) a flock infected with the endemic S. enterica Enteritidis serotype but which also had multiple other Salmonella serotypes (n = 65), and (iii) an S. enterica Pullorum-infected flock (n = 12). The first flock (S. enterica Enteritidis prevalence of 2.45% based on culture) provided a field test of the KELA and allowed the calculation of diagnostic sensitivity (D-Sn) and diagnostic specificity (D-Sp). With a cutoff of 10 (used for screening flocks [i.e., high sensitivity]), the KELA has a D-Sn of 95.2% and a D-Sp of 18.5%; with a cutoff of 140 (used in confirmatory flock testing [i.e., high specificity]), the KELA has a D-Sn of 28.0% and a D-Sp of 99.1%. We found that with a cutoff of 60 (D-Sn = 63.1%; D-Sp = 91.6%), we could eliminate reactions in the KELA caused by other non-S. enterica Enteritidis salmonellae. The KELA was also compared to two commercial rapid Pullorum tests, the Solvay (D-Sn = 94.9%; D-Sp = 55.5%) and the Vineland (D-Sn = 62.0%; D-Sp = 75.3%).