Immunoreactivity of Polish Lyme Disease Patient Sera to Specific <i>Borrelia</i> Antigens—Part 1
Iwona Wojciechowska-Koszko,
Magdalena Mnichowska-Polanowska,
Paweł Kwiatkowski,
Paulina Roszkowska,
Monika Sienkiewicz,
Barbara Dołęgowska
Affiliations
Iwona Wojciechowska-Koszko
Department of Diagnostic Immunology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powstancow Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland
Magdalena Mnichowska-Polanowska
Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powstancow Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland
Paweł Kwiatkowski
Department of Diagnostic Immunology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powstancow Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland
Paulina Roszkowska
Department of Diagnostic Immunology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powstancow Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland
Monika Sienkiewicz
Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Microbiological Diagnostic, Medical University of Lodz, Muszynskiego St. 1, 90-151 Lodz, Poland
Barbara Dołęgowska
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powstancow Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland
The diverse clinical picture and the non-specificity of symptoms in Lyme disease (LD) require the implementation of effective diagnostics, which should take into account the heterogeneity of Borrelia antigens. According to available guidelines, laboratories should use a two-tier serological diagnosis based on the enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) screening test and confirmation of the immunoblot (IB). The aim of the study was to investigate the immunoreactivity of LD patient sera to Borrelia antigens and to attempt to identify the genospecies responsible for LD using an ELISA–IB assay combination. Eighty patients with suspected LD and 22 healthy people participated in the study. All samples were tested with ELISA and IB assays in both IgM and IgG antibodies. In the case of the ELISA assay, more positive results were obtained in the IgM class than in the IgG class. In the case of the IB assay, positive results dominated in the IgG class. Positive results obtained in the IB assay most often showed IgM antibodies against the OspC and flagellin antigens, whereas the IgG antibodies were against VlsE, BmpA, OspC, p41, and p83 antigens. The IB assay is an important part of LD serodiagnosis and should be mandatory in diagnostic laboratories.
