Solid-phase radioimmunoassay of herpes simplex virus IgG and IgM antibodies.

A solid-phase radioimmunoassay for detection of herpes simplex virus-specific IgG and IgM antibodies in human serum specimens is presented. Virus antigen is adsorbed on polystyrene balls and antibodies which attach to the antigen are detected by 125I-labeled antihuman-gamma or antihuman-mu immunoglobulins. A total of 76 specimens have been tested. The appearance of virus-specific IgG and IgM antibodies in primary herpetic infections was readily demonstrated. When serum samples from patients with past exposure to herpes simplex virus were tested, endpoint titers of virus-specific IgG antibodies were found to be 8 to 2048 times higher than titers determined by a complement fixation test. Apparent cross reactivity with varicella-zoster virus was observed in the present radioimmunoassay.