Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in the detection of specific antibodies against Aspergillus in patient sera.

A biotin-avidin linked enzyme immunoassay (BALISA) was used to detect Aspergillus fumigatus specific antibodies in the sera of patients with aspergillosis. Culture filtrate antigens from a strain of A. fumigatus grown in synthetic medium was used in the ELISA. This antigen was characterized by various immunochemical methods including isoelectric focusing, two-dimensional electrophoresis and antigen antibody crossed-immunoelectrophoresis. Sera from patients having allergic asthma, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), aspergilloma and normal controls were studied. High levels of IgE and IgG antibodies specific to A. fumigatus antigens were detected in ABPA while only IgG antibodies were seen in aspergilloma. The normal group and the allergic asthma failed to show any differences in the specific antibody content. Biotin-avidin linked immunosorbent assay was found to be very useful in detecting both IgG and IgE antibodies, and by using characterized antigens reproducible and dependable results can be obtained.