TITLE:
Blastomyces dermatitidis: Stability studies on different yeast lysate antigens
AUTHORS:
Tiffany R. Allison, Joshua C. Wright, Gene M. Scalarone
KEYWORDS:
Blastomyces dermatitidis; Lysate Antigens; Antibody Detection; Stability; ELISA
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Immunology,
Vol.3 No.3,
September
18,
2013
ABSTRACT:
In Trial 1, 19 lots of Blastomyces dermatitidis (T-58;
Tennessee dog isolate) were assayed to determine the stability of the reagents
following storage. The reactivity of the antigens, produced from 1989 to 2012
and stored at 4°C, was determined by comparing antibody detection (enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay; ELISA) in 12 serum specimens from immunized rabbits. All
of the 19 reagents produced during this 23-year period exhibited a high degree
of stability and were able to detect antibody in the sera. Mean absorbance
values ranged from 0.798 (1989) to 0.827 (2012) and a mean value for all 19
antigens of 0.728. In a related evaluation, Trial 2, B. dermatitidis lysate antigens prepared from 8 isolates
(dog, human, soil) at two different time periods were assayed as above to
determine reactivity. The time of storage between the first and second reagents
varied from 4 to 17 years. The results indicated that all 16 of the lysate antigens
detected antibody in the 15 rabbit serum specimens with mean absorbance values
ranging from 0.346 to 0.682, but variations in reactivity were observed
depending on the lysate and the serum specimen assayed. This comparative study
provided evidence that the antigenic reagents do exhibit some lot-to-lot variation
in reactivity, but they did not lose any appreciable potency during prolonged
storage.