Development and application of ELISA for the detection of IgG antibodies to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus

Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is a neglected human pathogen, which can cause severe illnesses in humans. The most vulnerable are the human foetus and immunosuppressed individuals. Since there is no commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the diagnosis of anti-LCMV antibodies in human sera, we developed a sandwich ELISA method detecting anti-nucleoprotein IgG antibodies, using a specific monoclonal anti-nucleoprotein antibody and cells persistently infected with LCMV strain MX as antigen. In the present study we show standardization of this ELISA protocol, determination of its clinical specificity and sensitivity and its application on 30 clinical samples from multiorgan donors. Comparison of these results to the indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFA) demonstrates that ELISA is more sensitive. The developed ELISA assay provides a fast, simple and efficient tool for the clinical detection of anti-nucleoprotein antibodies in human sera.