Skip to main content
PMC home page
Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology logoLink to Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology
. 1997 Jul;4(4):469–473. doi: 10.1128/cdli.4.4.469-473.1997

Avidity of immunoglobulin G directed against human cytomegalovirus during primary and secondary infections in immunocompetent and immunocompromised subjects.

T Lazzarotto 1, P Spezzacatena 1, P Pradelli 1, D A Abate 1, S Varani 1, M P Landini 1
PMCID: PMC170552  PMID: 9220166

Abstract

Diagnosis of primary human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is accomplished exclusively by serologic testing. Among the possible methods, the determination of immunoglobulin G (IgG) avidity is one of the least explored. In this work, we used a commercially available kit to test anti-HCMV IgG avidity in 336 serum samples from pregnant women and transplant recipients undergoing virologically proven HCMV primary or nonprimary infections and from latently infected blood donors. Our results demonstrate that the anti-HCMV IgG avidity test differentiates primary from nonprimary HCMV infections in both pregnant women and solid organ transplant recipients. In fact, 88.6% of primary infections and no secondary infections showed low-avidity IgG to HCMV. In particular, low IgG avidity is a marker of primary infection for 18 to 20 weeks after onset of symptoms in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent subjects.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (121.3 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Basson J., Tardy J. C., Aymard M. Pattern of anti-cytomegalovirus IgM antibodies determined by immunoblotting. A study of kidney graft recipients developing a primary or recurrent CMV infection. Arch Virol. 1989;108(3-4):259–270. doi: 10.1007/BF01310938. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Blackburn N. K., Besselaar T. G., Schoub B. D., O'Connell K. F. Differentiation of primary cytomegalovirus infection from reactivation using the urea denaturation test for measuring antibody avidity. J Med Virol. 1991 Jan;33(1):6–9. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890330103. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Boppana S. B., Britt W. J. Antiviral antibody responses and intrauterine transmission after primary maternal cytomegalovirus infection. J Infect Dis. 1995 May;171(5):1115–1121. doi: 10.1093/infdis/171.5.1115. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Gleaves C. A., Smith T. F., Shuster E. A., Pearson G. R. Rapid detection of cytomegalovirus in MRC-5 cells inoculated with urine specimens by using low-speed centrifugation and monoclonal antibody to an early antigen. J Clin Microbiol. 1984 Jun;19(6):917–919. doi: 10.1128/jcm.19.6.917-919.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gleaves C. A., Wendt S. F., Dobbs D. R., Meyers J. D. Evaluation of the CMV-CUBE assay for detection of cytomegalovirus serologic status in marrow transplant patients and marrow donors. J Clin Microbiol. 1990 May;28(5):841–842. doi: 10.1128/jcm.28.5.841-842.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Grazia Revello M., Zavattoni M., Percivalle E., Grossi P., Gerna G. Correlation between immunofluorescent detection of human cytomegalovirus immediate early antigens in polymorphonuclear leukocytes and viremia. J Infect Dis. 1989 Jul;160(1):159–160. doi: 10.1093/infdis/160.1.159. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hedman K., Rousseau S. A. Measurement of avidity of specific IgG for verification of recent primary rubella. J Med Virol. 1989 Apr;27(4):288–292. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890270406. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kangro H. O., Manzoor S., Harper D. R. Antibody avidity following varicella-zoster virus infections. J Med Virol. 1991 Feb;33(2):100–105. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890330207. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Landini M. P., Lazzarotto T., Maine G. T., Ripalti A., Flanders R. Recombinant mono- and polyantigens to detect cytomegalovirus-specific immunoglobulin M in human sera by enzyme immunoassay. J Clin Microbiol. 1995 Oct;33(10):2535–2542. doi: 10.1128/jcm.33.10.2535-2542.1995. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Landini M. P. New approaches and perspectives in cytomegalovirus diagnosis. Prog Med Virol. 1993;40:157–177. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lazzarotto T., Dalla Casa B., Campisi B., Landini M. P. Enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay for the detection of cytomegalovirus-IgM: comparison between eight commercial kits, immunofluorescence, and immunoblotting. J Clin Lab Anal. 1992;6(4):216–218. doi: 10.1002/jcla.1860060409. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Lazzarotto T., Furlini G., Re M. C., Ramazzotti E., Campisi B., Landini M. P. Human cytomegalovirus replication correlates with differentiation in a hematopoietic progenitor cell line and can be modulated by HIV-1. Arch Virol. 1994;135(1-2):13–28. doi: 10.1007/BF01309762. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Lazzarotto T., Maine G. T., Dal Monte P., Ripalti A., Landini M. P. A novel Western blot test containing both viral and recombinant proteins for anticytomegalovirus immunoglobulin M detection. J Clin Microbiol. 1997 Feb;35(2):393–397. doi: 10.1128/jcm.35.2.393-397.1997. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Lutz E., Ward K. N., Gray J. J. Maturation of antibody avidity after primary human cytomegalovirus infection is delayed in immunosuppressed solid organ transplant patients. J Med Virol. 1994 Dec;44(4):317–322. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890440402. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Lutz E., Ward K. N., Szydlo R., Goldman J. M. Cytomegalovirus antibody avidity in allogeneic bone marrow recipients: evidence for primary or secondary humoral responses depending on donor immune status. J Med Virol. 1996 May;49(1):61–65. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-9071(199605)49:1<61::AID-JMV10>3.0.CO;2-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Monte P. D., Lazzarotto T., Ripalti A., Landini M. P. Human cytomegalovirus infection: a complex diagnostic problem in which molecular biology has induced a rapid evolution. Intervirology. 1996;39(3):193–203. doi: 10.1159/000150495. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Nielsen C. M., Hansen K., Andersen H. M., Gerstoft J., Vestergaard B. F. An enzyme labelled nuclear antigen immunoassay for detection of cytomegalovirus IgM antibodies in human serum: specific and non-specific reactions. J Med Virol. 1987 May;22(1):67–76. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890220109. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Nielsen S. L., Sørensen I., Andersen H. K. Kinetics of specific immunoglobulins M, E, A, and G in congenital, primary, and secondary cytomegalovirus infection studied by antibody-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. J Clin Microbiol. 1988 Apr;26(4):654–661. doi: 10.1128/jcm.26.4.654-661.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Ruellan-Eugene G., Barjot P., Campet M., Vabret A., Herlicoviez M., Muller G., Levy G., Guillois B., Freymuth F. Evaluation of virological procedures to detect fetal human cytomegalovirus infection: avidity of IgG antibodies, virus detection in amniotic fluid and maternal serum. J Med Virol. 1996 Sep;50(1):9–15. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-9071(199609)50:1<9::AID-JMV3>3.0.CO;2-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Tuokko H. Detection of acute measles infections by indirect and mu-capture enzyme immunoassays for immunoglobulin M antibodies and measles immunoglobulin G antibody avidity enzyme immunoassay. J Med Virol. 1995 Mar;45(3):306–311. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890450312. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Ward K. N., Dhaliwal W., Ashworth K. L., Clutterbuck E. J., Teo C. G. Measurement of antibody avidity for hepatitis C virus distinguishes primary antibody responses from passively acquired antibody. J Med Virol. 1994 Aug;43(4):367–372. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890430409. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Ward K. N., Gray J. J., Joslin M. E., Sheldon M. J. Avidity of IgG antibodies to human herpesvirus-6 distinguishes primary from recurrent infection in organ transplant recipients and excludes cross-reactivity with other herpesviruses. J Med Virol. 1993 Jan;39(1):44–49. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890390109. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Ward K. N., Sheldon M. J., Gray J. J. Primary and recurrent cytomegalovirus infections have different effects on human herpesvirus-6 antibodies in immunosuppressed organ graft recipients: absence of virus cross-reactivity and evidence for virus interaction. J Med Virol. 1991 Aug;34(4):258–267. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890340411. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. van der Bij W., Torensma R., van Son W. J., Anema J., Schirm J., Tegzess A. M., The T. H. Rapid immunodiagnosis of active cytomegalovirus infection by monoclonal antibody staining of blood leucocytes. J Med Virol. 1988 Jun;25(2):179–188. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890250208. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES