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Clin. Vaccine Immunol. doi:10.1128/CVI.00345-07
Copyright (c) 2007, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Detection of Antibodies against Mycoplasma suis Using Recombinant Antigens and Correlation of Serological Results to Hematological Findings

Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Clinic for Swine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany; Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: lhoelzle{at}vetbakt.uzh.ch.

	Abstract

Porcine eperythrozoonosis is a worldwide distributed disease caused by the unculturable hemotrophic bacterium Mycoplasma suis. Current serological testing utilizes crude M. suis antigens purified from the blood of experimentally infected pigs. These antigens show high variability and are restricted to specialized laboratories. We evaluated a novel serological assay based on two recombinant M. suis antigens (rMSG1, rHspA1). Antigen specificity was proven by means of sera raised against non-hemotrophic mycoplasma and other relevant bacteria. Using experimental and convalescent sera rMSG1 and rHspA1 ELISA demonstrated equal or higher sensitivities, specificities, and predictive values (94.0-100.0%) with reference to the Ms ELISA. Field samples from 120 weaning piglets grouped by quantitative PCR results were used to evaluate the diagnostic capability of the new ELISA systems in comparison to the Ms ELISA. Assuming a 100.0% specificity of the PCR, the Ms ELISA, rHspA1 ELISA, and rMSG1 ELISA showed specificities of 84.8%, 83.8% and 90.6%, and sensitivities of 61.5%, 74.0% and 58.1%, respectively. Cohen's kappa coefficients comparing the recombinant ELISAs to the Ms ELISA indicate a moderate to substantial agreement. The detection of anti-MSG1 and/or anti-HspA1 antibodies in pigs was significantly correlated with decreased hematocrit, erythrocyte numbers and hemoglobin concentrations indicating that a single seropositive result is connected with a clinical and etiological significance. In conclusion, rMSG1 and rHspA1 are sensitive and specific serological and infection markers which are for the first time independent of animal experiments. They are especially fit to be used in routine diagnosis, pathogenesis studies, and large scale epidemiological investigations.