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Non-instrumental immunoassay based on coloured polyacrolein latex: application to group-specific polysaccharide of Streptococcus pyogenes.

Non-instrumental immunoassay methods based on immunofiltration and microtiter particle agglutination (MPA) techniques have been developed using coloured polyacrolein latex. These methods have been applied to the quantification of the group-specific polysaccharide, A-PS, of S.pyogenes (group A Streptococcus) and compared to the standard ELISA tests. The assay with the ability to detect the lowest concentration of antigen was MPA; as little as 0.05 ng A-PS/ml or 10(4) cells/ml could be detected in 1.5 h. In comparison to ELISA test the sensitivity of MPA was 10 times higher and the procedure of the assay was much more simple. The sensitivity of the immunofiltration assay using both enzyme and latex markers was shown to be the same (50 ng A-PS/ml) and the duration of the assay 3-5 min. No cross-reactions of latex conjugates with non A Streptococcus cell lysates have been observed. The developed methods are easy to perform and require neither sophisticated equipment nor specially trained personal.

Acrolein↗

Characterization of two novel pyrogenic toxin superantigens made by an acute rheumatic fever clone of Streptococcus pyogenes associated with multiple disease outbreaks.

The pathogenesis of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is poorly understood. We identified two contiguous bacteriophage genes, designated speL and speM, encoding novel inferred superantigens in the genome sequence of an ARF strain of serotype M18 group A streptococcus (GAS). speL and speM were located at the same genomic site in 33 serotype M18 isolates, and no nucleotide sequence diversity was observed in the 33 strains analyzed. Furthermore, the genes were absent in 13 non-M18 strains tested. These data indicate a recent acquisition event by a distinct clone of serotype M18 GAS. speL and speM were transcribed in vitro and upregulated in the exponential phase of growth. Purified SpeL and SpeM were pyrogenic and mitogenic for rabbit splenocytes and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in picogram amounts. SpeL preferentially expanded human T cells expressing T-cell receptors Vbeta1, Vbeta5.1, and Vbeta23, and SpeM had specificity for Vbeta1 and Vbeta23 subsets, indicating that both proteins had superantigen activity. SpeL was lethal in two animal models of streptococcal toxic shock, and SpeM was lethal in one model. Serologic studies indicated that ARF patients were exposed to serotype M18 GAS, SpeL, and SpeM. The data demonstrate that SpeL and SpeM are pyrogenic toxin superantigens and suggest that they may participate in the host-pathogen interactions in some ARF patients.

Acute Disease↗