Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1981 Jan;13(1):167–170. doi: 10.1128/jcm.13.1.167-170.1981

Response of several Limulus amoebocyte lysates to native endotoxin present in gonococcal and nongonococcal urethral exudates from human males.

R B Prior, V A Spagna
PMCID: PMC273743  PMID: 7462411

Abstract

Three Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) preparations obtained from three different suppliers were comparatively evaluated for sensitivity to native endotoxin contained in urethral exudates from 28 men with gonococcal urethritis and 16 men with nongonococcal urethritis. One LAL preparation was not extracted with organic solvents during manufacture, whereas the other two were extracted with chloroform. All three LAL preparations had equivalent sensitivities (0.06 ng/ml) to an established reference endotoxin standard (EC-2), but significant differences in sensitivities were found among the different LAL preparations when testing clinical specimens. Dilution breakpoints of urethral samples for maximum sensitivity and specificity ranged from 1:400 to 1:1,600, depending on the LAL preparation. The nonextracted lysate was significantly more sensitive to the presence of endotoxin in gonococcal exudates than the other two preparations (P less than 0.001) but not significantly different from one LAL preparation (P greater than 0.05) in detecting endotoxin in nongonococcal exudates. An additional 116 men, 61 with culture-proven gonococcal urethritis and 55 with nongonococcal urethritis, were evaluated with three lots of nonextracted lysate with sensitivities ranging from 0.04 to 0.06 ng/ml, reference endotoxin EC-2. At a dilution breakpoint of 1:1,600, the sensitivity of the LAL test was 100%, and the specificity was 96%.

Full text

PDF
168

Selected References

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

  1. Bowie W. R. Etiology and treatment of nongonococcal urethritis. Sex Transm Dis. 1978 Jan-Mar;5(1):27–33. doi: 10.1097/00007435-197801000-00009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Holmes K. K., Handsfield H. H., Wang S. P., Wentworth B. B., Turck M., Anderson J. B., Alexander E. R. Etiology of nongonococcal urethritis. N Engl J Med. 1975 Jun 5;292(23):1199–1205. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197506052922301. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Jorgensen J. H., Smith R. F. Preparation, sensitivity, and specificity of Limulus lysate for endotoxin assay. Appl Microbiol. 1973 Jul;26(1):43–48. doi: 10.1128/am.26.1.43-48.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. LEVIN J., BANG F. B. THE ROLE OF ENDOTOXIN IN THE EXTRACELLULAR COAGULATION OF LIMULUS BLOOD. Bull Johns Hopkins Hosp. 1964 Sep;115:265–274. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Lewis V. J., Thacker W. L., Mitchell S. H. Demonstration of chlamydial endotoxin-like activity. J Gen Microbiol. 1979 Sep;114(1):215–216. doi: 10.1099/00221287-114-1-215. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Prior R. B., Spagna V. A. Adaptation of a microdilution procedure to the Limulus lysate assay for endotoxin. J Clin Microbiol. 1979 Sep;10(3):394–395. doi: 10.1128/jcm.10.3.394-395.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Prior R. B., Spagna V. A. Comparative evaluation of the tube and microdilution Limulus lysate techniques for rapid presumptive diagnosis of gonococcal urethritis in men. J Clin Microbiol. 1980 Apr;11(4):340–342. doi: 10.1128/jcm.11.4.340-342.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Rice P. A., Kasper D. L. Characterization of gonococcal antigens responsible for induction of bactericidal antibody in disseminated infection. J Clin Invest. 1977 Nov;60(5):1149–1158. doi: 10.1172/JCI108867. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Spagna V. A., Prior R. B., Perkins R. L. Rapid presumptive diagnosis of gonococcal cervicitis by the limulus lysate assay. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1980 Jul 1;137(5):595–599. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(80)90702-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Spagna V. A., Prior R. B., Perkins R. L. Rapid presumptive diagnosis of gonococcal urethritis in men by the limulus lysate test. Br J Vener Dis. 1979 Jun;55(3):179–182. doi: 10.1136/sti.55.3.179. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Sullivan J. D., Jr, Watson S. W. Factors affecting the sensitivity of Limulus lysate. Appl Microbiol. 1974 Dec;28(6):1023–1026. doi: 10.1128/am.28.6.1023-1026.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Wachtel R. E., Tsuji K. Comparison of limulus amebocyte lysates and correlation with the United States Pharmacopeial pyrogen test. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1977 Jun;33(6):1265–1269. doi: 10.1128/aem.33.6.1265-1269.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ward P. A., Hill J. H. Detection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS): an improved method for isolation of the Limulus extract. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1972 Dec;141(3):898–900. doi: 10.3181/00379727-141-36897. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Wong J. L., Hines P. A., Brasher M. D., Rogers G. T., Smith R. F., Schachter J. The etiology of nongonococcal urethritis in men attending a venereal disease clinic. Sex Transm Dis. 1977 Jan-Mar;4(1):4–8. doi: 10.1097/00007435-197701000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES