Uday
Antigen antibody reactions
• The antigen-antibody reaction is a bimolecular association where the
antigen and antibody combine with each other specifically and in an
observable manner similar to an enzyme-substrate interaction, the only
difference is, it does not lead to an irreversible alteration in either
antibody or in antigen.
General properties of Ag-Ab reactions
• Specific
• Non-covalent bonding:
• Hydrogen bonds
• Electrostatic interactions
• Hydrophobic interactions • Van der Waals forces
• Strength:
• Affinity
• Avidity
• Qualitative assays
• Quantitative assays
Stages:
The interaction between an antigen and an antibody occurs in three stages:
1.Primary Stage: The first stage involves the formation of the Ag-Ab complex. It is rapid
and and reversible without any visible effects.
2.Secondary Stage: It leads to observable phenomena such as agglutination or
precipitation It is slow and irreversible with visible effects.
3.Tertiary Stage: It involves the neutralization or destruction of the antigen.
Marrack’s hypothesis
Types of Ag-Ab reactions
Evaluation of the immune assays
• Sensitivity is defined as ability of a test to identify correctly all those who
have the disease, i.e. true-positives
Sensitivity = (True positive) / (True positives +False negatives)
• Specificity is defined as ability of a test to identify correctly all those who
do not have disease, i.e. true negatives
Specificity = (True negatives) / (True negative +False positives)
Types
Precipitation reaction
• When a soluble antigen reacts with its antibody in the presence of optimal
temperature, pH and electrolytes (NaCl)
• Flocculation reaction: When a drop of antigen is mixed with a drop of
patient's serum, then the precipitate formed remains suspended as
floccules. This test can be done on a slide or in a tube
Precipitation in gel (Immunodiffusion)
• Single diffusion in one dimension (Oudin procedure): When antigen
solution is poured over a layer of gel containing antibody in a test tube,
only the antigen diffuses in one direction towards antibody to form a
band
• Double diffusions in one dimension (Oakley- Fulthorpe procedure): In the
above test, if a column of plain agar is placed between the antigen layer
and the layer of gel incorporated with antibody; then both antigen and
antibody move towards each other in opposite directions and the
precipitate band is formed at the line they meet in the plain agar (Fig.
12.2).
• Single diffusion in one dimensions (Radial immunodiffusion):
• Double diffusions in one dimensions (Ouchterlony procedure):
• Examples of double diffusions in two dimensions include-Elek's test
for detecting toxin of Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Eiken test
to detect toxin of Escherichia
• Single diffusion in two direction (Radial Immunodiffusion)
• Double diffusions in two dimensions (Ouchterlony procedure)
• Single diffusion in 2 dimensions
• Single and double diffusion
in 1 dimension
Double diffusion in 2 dimensions
Agglutination reaction
• When a particulate or insoluble antigen is mixed with its antibody in the
presence of electrolytes at a suitable temperature and pH, the particles
are clumped or agglutinated.
Advantage: Agglutination is more sensitive than precipitation test and the
clumps are better visualized and interpreted as compared to bands or
floccules.
• Slide agglutination (Eg.: Blood grouping, serotyping)
• Tube agglutination (Eg.: Widal test)
• Microscopic agglutination
Indirect or passive hemagglutination tests
Coating the soluble antigen on the surface of acarrier molecule (e.g. RBC,
latex or bentonite), so that the antibody binds to the coated antigen and
agglutination takes place on the surface of the carrier molecule.
• Indirect Hemagglutination Test (IHA): It is a passive agglutination test
where RBCs are used as carrier molecules
• Latex Agglutination Test (LAT) for Antibody Detection: Polystyrene latex
particles (0.8-1 um in diameter) are used as carrier molecules which are
capable of adsorbing several types of antigens
Eg.: Anti-streptolysin O antibody (ASO) test, CRP, RA, etc.
Hemagglutination test
• It refers to the agglutination tests that uses RBCs as the source go Ag.
• Direct hemagglutination tests:
Serum antibodies directly agglutinate with surface antigens of RBCs to produce a matt. Examples
include:
Eg.: Paul Bunnell test: It employs sheep RBCs as antigens to detect Epstein-Barr virus antibodies in
serum
Cold agglutination test: It uses human RBCs as antigens to detect Mycoplasma antibodies in
serum. Test is performed in tubes
Blood grouping (ABO and Rh grouping)
Coombs test or antiglobulin test: to diagnose Rh incompatibility by detecting Rh antibody from
mother's and baby's serum.
• Viral Hemagglutination Test
• In strict sense, it is not an antigen-antibody reaction. The
hemagglutinin antigens (HA) present on surface of some viruses
(hemagglutinating viruses, e.g. influenza virus) can agglutinate with
the receptors present on the surface of RBCs.
COMPLEMENT FIXATION TEST
Complement fixation test (CFT) detects the antibodies in patient's serum that are capable of fixing with
complements. It was once very popular, now is almost obsolete.
Applications
• Wasserman test was the most popular CFT, used for the diagnosis of syphilis
• In addition, CFT was also widely used for detection of complement fixing antibodies in Rickettsia,
Chlamydia, Brucella, Mycoplasma infections and some viral
• infections, such as arboviruses, rabies, etc.
• Complements are also used for various serological tests other than CFT, such as:
• Treponema pallidum immobilization test
• Sabin-feldman dye test for Toxoplasma
• Vibriocidal antibody test.
Principle of complement fixation test
Neutralization tests
Viral neutralization test:
•Detects the presence of neutralizing antibody in patient’s serum
•Serum is mixed with a live viral suspension and poured onto a cell line, specific serum antibody
neutralizes the surface antigen, making the virus unable to infect a cell line
Plaque inhibition test: This is done for bacteriophages
Toxin–antitoxin neutralization test:
Schick test: It is a diphtheria toxin–antitoxin neutralization test
Nagler’s reaction: It is used for detection of α-toxin of Clostridium perfringens
ASO test: Antistreptolysin O antibody was detected before by neutralization method. Now
replaced by latex agglutination
Hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) test:
ELISA
ELISA is so named because of its two components:
• Enzyme is used to label one of the components of immunoassay (i.e. antigen or antibody)
• Immunosorbent: Here, an absorbing material is used (e.g. polystyrene, polyvinyl) that specifically
absorbs the antigen or antibody present in serum
• A substrate-chromogen system is added at the final step of ELISA
• Eg. Horseradish Peroxidase ——- Hydrogen peroxide—— Tetramethyl benzidine (TMB)
• Urease ——- Urea ——-Bromocresol
• ß-Galactosidase———ONPG——ONPG
Types of ELISA
•Direct ELISA
•Used for detection of antigen in test serum
•Primary antibody (targeted against the serum antigen) is labeled with the enzyme
•
•Indirect ELISA
•Used for detection of antibody or antigen in serum
•Differs from the direct ELISA in that the secondary antibody is labeled with enzyme instead of primary antibody
Advantages of ELISA
•Large number of samples can be tested together using the 96 well microtiter
plate.
•Economical, takes 2–3 hours for performing the assay
• ELISA has a high sensitivity
Disadvantages of ELISA
•less preferred In small laboratories having less sample load
•Takes more time (2–3 hours) compared to rapid tests which take 10–20 minutes
•Needs expensive equipment such as ELISA washer and reader.
•Can be used both for antigen and antibody detection
ØAntigen detection:
•Hepatitis B [hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and pre-core antigen (HBeAg)],
•NS1 antigen for dengue
ØAntibody detection :
hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, Dengue, EBV, HSV, toxoplasmosis, leishmaniasis
Enzyme linked fluorescent assay
• An modification of ELISA, differs from ELISA in two ways
• Automated system all steps are performed by the instrument itself
• Ag-Ab enzyme complex is detected by fluorometric method
Advantages:
an automated system
easy to perform
less contamination chance
more sensitive and specific
Disadvantages:
Expensive
Applications:
Infectious diseases:
Markers of hepatitis viruses and HIV (Ag and Ab)
Ab to TORCH infection
Measles, mumps, varicella
H. pylori
Antigen to C. difficile
Rotavirus
Other uses:
Biomarkers(e.g.procalcitonin)
Hormones (e.g. thyroid)
Tumor markers
Cardiac markers
Immunofluorescence assay
A technique similar to ELISA, but differs by some important features:
Fluorescent dye is used instead of enzyme for labeling of antibody
Detects cell surface antigens
It is also used to detect antibodies bound to cell surface antigens, unlike ELISA
which detects free antigen or antibody
Chemiluminescence assay
• Chemiluminescence refers to the emission of light (luminescence), as a result of a
chemical reaction
• Principle of CLIA is similar to that of ELISA - Chromogenic substance is replaced
by chemiluminescent compounds (e.g. luminol and acridinium ester) that
generate light during a chemical reaction (luxogenic) —light (photons) can be
detected by a photomultiplier, also called as luminometer
•Detection of antigens or antibodies against various infections such as hepatitis
viruses
• HIV
• TORCH infections
• Biomarkers such as procalcitonin
RDT
• Simple to perform ,rapid (takes 10–20 minutes)
• Require minimal training do not need any sophisticated instruments.
• Also called Point ­
of­care (POC) tests
• Two principles of rapid tests are available—lateral flow assay and flow through
assay
• Both the formats are available for the diagnosis of various diseases such as
malaria, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, leptospirosis, Helicobacter pylori, syphilis
Antigen antibody reactions and their application in diagnosis of infections
Antigen antibody reactions and their application in diagnosis of infections

Antigen antibody reactions and their application in diagnosis of infections

  • 1.
  • 2.
    • The antigen-antibodyreaction is a bimolecular association where the antigen and antibody combine with each other specifically and in an observable manner similar to an enzyme-substrate interaction, the only difference is, it does not lead to an irreversible alteration in either antibody or in antigen.
  • 3.
    General properties ofAg-Ab reactions • Specific • Non-covalent bonding: • Hydrogen bonds • Electrostatic interactions • Hydrophobic interactions • Van der Waals forces • Strength: • Affinity • Avidity
  • 4.
    • Qualitative assays •Quantitative assays
  • 5.
    Stages: The interaction betweenan antigen and an antibody occurs in three stages: 1.Primary Stage: The first stage involves the formation of the Ag-Ab complex. It is rapid and and reversible without any visible effects. 2.Secondary Stage: It leads to observable phenomena such as agglutination or precipitation It is slow and irreversible with visible effects. 3.Tertiary Stage: It involves the neutralization or destruction of the antigen.
  • 6.
  • 7.
    Types of Ag-Abreactions
  • 8.
    Evaluation of theimmune assays • Sensitivity is defined as ability of a test to identify correctly all those who have the disease, i.e. true-positives Sensitivity = (True positive) / (True positives +False negatives) • Specificity is defined as ability of a test to identify correctly all those who do not have disease, i.e. true negatives Specificity = (True negatives) / (True negative +False positives)
  • 9.
    Types Precipitation reaction • Whena soluble antigen reacts with its antibody in the presence of optimal temperature, pH and electrolytes (NaCl) • Flocculation reaction: When a drop of antigen is mixed with a drop of patient's serum, then the precipitate formed remains suspended as floccules. This test can be done on a slide or in a tube
  • 10.
    Precipitation in gel(Immunodiffusion) • Single diffusion in one dimension (Oudin procedure): When antigen solution is poured over a layer of gel containing antibody in a test tube, only the antigen diffuses in one direction towards antibody to form a band • Double diffusions in one dimension (Oakley- Fulthorpe procedure): In the above test, if a column of plain agar is placed between the antigen layer and the layer of gel incorporated with antibody; then both antigen and antibody move towards each other in opposite directions and the precipitate band is formed at the line they meet in the plain agar (Fig. 12.2).
  • 11.
    • Single diffusionin one dimensions (Radial immunodiffusion): • Double diffusions in one dimensions (Ouchterlony procedure): • Examples of double diffusions in two dimensions include-Elek's test for detecting toxin of Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Eiken test to detect toxin of Escherichia • Single diffusion in two direction (Radial Immunodiffusion) • Double diffusions in two dimensions (Ouchterlony procedure)
  • 12.
    • Single diffusionin 2 dimensions • Single and double diffusion in 1 dimension Double diffusion in 2 dimensions
  • 13.
    Agglutination reaction • Whena particulate or insoluble antigen is mixed with its antibody in the presence of electrolytes at a suitable temperature and pH, the particles are clumped or agglutinated. Advantage: Agglutination is more sensitive than precipitation test and the clumps are better visualized and interpreted as compared to bands or floccules.
  • 14.
    • Slide agglutination(Eg.: Blood grouping, serotyping) • Tube agglutination (Eg.: Widal test) • Microscopic agglutination
  • 15.
    Indirect or passivehemagglutination tests Coating the soluble antigen on the surface of acarrier molecule (e.g. RBC, latex or bentonite), so that the antibody binds to the coated antigen and agglutination takes place on the surface of the carrier molecule. • Indirect Hemagglutination Test (IHA): It is a passive agglutination test where RBCs are used as carrier molecules • Latex Agglutination Test (LAT) for Antibody Detection: Polystyrene latex particles (0.8-1 um in diameter) are used as carrier molecules which are capable of adsorbing several types of antigens Eg.: Anti-streptolysin O antibody (ASO) test, CRP, RA, etc.
  • 16.
    Hemagglutination test • Itrefers to the agglutination tests that uses RBCs as the source go Ag. • Direct hemagglutination tests: Serum antibodies directly agglutinate with surface antigens of RBCs to produce a matt. Examples include: Eg.: Paul Bunnell test: It employs sheep RBCs as antigens to detect Epstein-Barr virus antibodies in serum Cold agglutination test: It uses human RBCs as antigens to detect Mycoplasma antibodies in serum. Test is performed in tubes Blood grouping (ABO and Rh grouping) Coombs test or antiglobulin test: to diagnose Rh incompatibility by detecting Rh antibody from mother's and baby's serum.
  • 17.
    • Viral HemagglutinationTest • In strict sense, it is not an antigen-antibody reaction. The hemagglutinin antigens (HA) present on surface of some viruses (hemagglutinating viruses, e.g. influenza virus) can agglutinate with the receptors present on the surface of RBCs.
  • 18.
    COMPLEMENT FIXATION TEST Complementfixation test (CFT) detects the antibodies in patient's serum that are capable of fixing with complements. It was once very popular, now is almost obsolete. Applications • Wasserman test was the most popular CFT, used for the diagnosis of syphilis • In addition, CFT was also widely used for detection of complement fixing antibodies in Rickettsia, Chlamydia, Brucella, Mycoplasma infections and some viral • infections, such as arboviruses, rabies, etc. • Complements are also used for various serological tests other than CFT, such as: • Treponema pallidum immobilization test • Sabin-feldman dye test for Toxoplasma • Vibriocidal antibody test.
  • 19.
  • 20.
    Neutralization tests Viral neutralizationtest: •Detects the presence of neutralizing antibody in patient’s serum •Serum is mixed with a live viral suspension and poured onto a cell line, specific serum antibody neutralizes the surface antigen, making the virus unable to infect a cell line Plaque inhibition test: This is done for bacteriophages Toxin–antitoxin neutralization test: Schick test: It is a diphtheria toxin–antitoxin neutralization test Nagler’s reaction: It is used for detection of α-toxin of Clostridium perfringens ASO test: Antistreptolysin O antibody was detected before by neutralization method. Now replaced by latex agglutination Hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) test:
  • 21.
    ELISA ELISA is sonamed because of its two components: • Enzyme is used to label one of the components of immunoassay (i.e. antigen or antibody) • Immunosorbent: Here, an absorbing material is used (e.g. polystyrene, polyvinyl) that specifically absorbs the antigen or antibody present in serum • A substrate-chromogen system is added at the final step of ELISA • Eg. Horseradish Peroxidase ——- Hydrogen peroxide—— Tetramethyl benzidine (TMB) • Urease ——- Urea ——-Bromocresol • ß-Galactosidase———ONPG——ONPG
  • 22.
    Types of ELISA •DirectELISA •Used for detection of antigen in test serum •Primary antibody (targeted against the serum antigen) is labeled with the enzyme • •Indirect ELISA •Used for detection of antibody or antigen in serum •Differs from the direct ELISA in that the secondary antibody is labeled with enzyme instead of primary antibody
  • 23.
    Advantages of ELISA •Largenumber of samples can be tested together using the 96 well microtiter plate. •Economical, takes 2–3 hours for performing the assay • ELISA has a high sensitivity Disadvantages of ELISA •less preferred In small laboratories having less sample load •Takes more time (2–3 hours) compared to rapid tests which take 10–20 minutes •Needs expensive equipment such as ELISA washer and reader.
  • 24.
    •Can be usedboth for antigen and antibody detection ØAntigen detection: •Hepatitis B [hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and pre-core antigen (HBeAg)], •NS1 antigen for dengue ØAntibody detection : hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, Dengue, EBV, HSV, toxoplasmosis, leishmaniasis
  • 25.
    Enzyme linked fluorescentassay • An modification of ELISA, differs from ELISA in two ways • Automated system all steps are performed by the instrument itself • Ag-Ab enzyme complex is detected by fluorometric method Advantages: an automated system easy to perform less contamination chance more sensitive and specific Disadvantages: Expensive
  • 26.
    Applications: Infectious diseases: Markers ofhepatitis viruses and HIV (Ag and Ab) Ab to TORCH infection Measles, mumps, varicella H. pylori Antigen to C. difficile Rotavirus Other uses: Biomarkers(e.g.procalcitonin) Hormones (e.g. thyroid) Tumor markers Cardiac markers
  • 27.
    Immunofluorescence assay A techniquesimilar to ELISA, but differs by some important features: Fluorescent dye is used instead of enzyme for labeling of antibody Detects cell surface antigens It is also used to detect antibodies bound to cell surface antigens, unlike ELISA which detects free antigen or antibody
  • 28.
    Chemiluminescence assay • Chemiluminescencerefers to the emission of light (luminescence), as a result of a chemical reaction • Principle of CLIA is similar to that of ELISA - Chromogenic substance is replaced by chemiluminescent compounds (e.g. luminol and acridinium ester) that generate light during a chemical reaction (luxogenic) —light (photons) can be detected by a photomultiplier, also called as luminometer
  • 29.
    •Detection of antigensor antibodies against various infections such as hepatitis viruses • HIV • TORCH infections • Biomarkers such as procalcitonin
  • 30.
    RDT • Simple toperform ,rapid (takes 10–20 minutes) • Require minimal training do not need any sophisticated instruments. • Also called Point ­ of­care (POC) tests • Two principles of rapid tests are available—lateral flow assay and flow through assay • Both the formats are available for the diagnosis of various diseases such as malaria, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, leptospirosis, Helicobacter pylori, syphilis