Comparison of a monoclonal antibody with a polyclonal serum in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detecting adenovirus.

To develop and evaluate an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detecting adenovirus antigens in which a group-specific monoclonal antibody to the adenovirus hexon is used, we studied two different ELISA test systems. The test system which was the most sensitive and specific was then compared in parallel tests with a similarly constructed ELISA in which a mouse polyclonal serum was used. Both the ELISA with the monoclonal antibody and that with the polyclonal serum detected purified hexon and 15 different adenovirus types with similar sensitivities. The two assays also showed no reaction with 23 heterologous viruses. Both tests detected adenovirus in stool and respiratory tract specimens tested for adenovirus by standard tissue culture techniques with similar sensitivities and specificities, but neither was sufficiently sensitive for routine testing of these types of clinical specimens. However, the ELISA with the monoclonal antibody proved to be a good test for the noncultivatable adenoviruses, detecting 12 of 12 stool samples that were positive by electron microscopy. The monoclonal antibody proved to be as sensitive and specific as the polyclonal serum and has the advantage that it can be produced in unlimited quantities and needs to be characterized only once.