Standardization of quantitative dengue virus nonstructural-1 ELISA for quantitation of dengue virus nonstructural-1 levels in human serum

Abstract

Introduction: Dengue virus (DENV) infection is a significant global public health problem, caused by four antigenically distinct serotypes of DENV, namely, DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4. The disease manifestations range from asymptomatic or mild undifferentiated fever to severe diseases such as dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. Extensive research has been done on pathogenesis of DENV infection and the factors responsible for its severe manifestations. However, there is no ideal prognostic biomarker available yet. In various studies, it has been observed that DENV nonstructural-1 (NS1) protein plays a crucial role in pathogenesis. DENV NS1 protein acts by various mechanisms such as direct effect on vascular endothelium and activation of alternate complement pathway, which causes the release of inflammatory cytokines, leading to plasma leakage. It has also been observed that DENV NS1 levels correlate with disease severity. Until the present date, no commercial quantitative DENV NS1 ELISA is available for quantifying DENV NS1 levels in patients of DENV infection. Aim: Standardization of quantitative DENV NS1 ELISA. Methods: This study utilizes an already available NS1 ELISA kit and known concentrations of recombinant DENV NS1 protein to standardize quantitative DENV NS1 ELISA to estimate the NS1 concentration in human sera. Conclusion: Commercially available DENV NS1 detection kits can be standardized for quantification of DENV NS1 in human sera and use this data to find the association between NS1 concentration and disease severity.

Keywords

• biomarker
• dengue virus infection
• nonstructural-1 protein levels
• quantitative dengue virus nonstructural-1 elisa