Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae antibodies.

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) described by Engvall and Perlmann has been used for the detection of antibodies against Mycoplasma pneumoniae. These organisms, grown in flat-bottom wells of microtiter plates, were used as antigen. Preliminary results suggest that ELISA is specific and that its sensitivity is somewhere in between those of the metabolic inhibition and radioimmunoprecipitation methods. Unlike other serological methods, such as metabolic inhibition and mycoplasmacidal tests, in which the presence of antibiotics in sera may give false results, ELISA provided results that were not influenced by antibiotics. Furthermore, ELISA offers the possiblity of measuring not only immunoglobulin M, but also complement-independent antibodies, especially those of the immunoglobulin A class. Theoretical aspects concerning the different sensitivities of some serological reactions are discussed.