Serodiagnosis of M. pneumoniae infections by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been used for detection of antibodies against Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The results of ELISA and its sensitivity compared with other serological methods, such as complement fixation (CF), metabolic inhibition (MI), mycoplasmacidal test (MC), and radioimmunoprecipitation (RIP) are reported. ELISA and MC showed greater sensitivity than CF and MI, while RIP showed serum titer two- to 16-fold higher. ELISA was specific as determined using other human mycoplasma. A simplified method based on the determination of ELISA antibody end-point titer by a single serum dilution has been proposed. ELISA presented several advantages: sensitivity, rapidity, and low cost and, if adequately standardized, could become a reliable method for the serodiagnosis of M. pneumoniae infection.