Self-sampled and air-dried cervicovaginal secretions can be used for analyses of mucosal antibodies.

Cervicovaginal secretions were collected from 26 women (13 premenopausal and 13 postmenopausal) using a new sampling device (MucoSafeTM) with an absorbent which was introduced into the vagina and retrieved by the women themselves, after which it was air-dried and stored for months at room temperature until extraction of immunoglobulins. Cervical secretions were also collected by absorbent cylindrical wicks (Polyfiltronics) which were introduced into the cervical canal during speculum examination and thereafter kept frozen until extraction. The concentrations of specific IgA and IgG antibodies (to group B streptococci) in extracts from both methods were corrected by reference to total immunoglobulin levels. Three pairs of samples, all from postmenopausal women, were excluded from analysis due to undetectable levels of antibodies in the MucoSafeTM specimen. In the remaining 23 pairs, corrected concentrations of IgA and IgG antibodies in samples obtained by MucoSafeTM correlated well with the corresponding concentrations in wick samples, R = 0.84 (p < 0.0001) and R = 0.69 (p = 0.0002), respectively. Thus, cervicovaginal secretions for antibody measurements can be obtained by this novel method for self-sampling, obviating the need for speculum examination and storage of frozen samples.