Human cytomegalovirus specific IgA antibodies detected by immunoperoxidase assay in serum of patients with cytomegalovirus infections

Cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific IgA antibodies were determined by an immunoperoxidase assay in sequential serum samples of 10 patients with CMV infection in order to evaluate the feasibility of the use of this technique for diagnosis. In parallel, IgM and IgG antibodies to CMV were studied by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and by the immunoperoxidase assay, respectively. CMV IgA antibodies were detected in all 10 CMV patients studied. Specific IgM was detected earlier than IgA in only one of these ten patients. No CMV-specific IgA antibodies (titer less than 2) were detected in 45 medical students. Neither were they found in paired sera of 5 patients with herpes simplex infection, 5 patients with varicella, 6 patients with zoster and 2 patients with Epstein-Barr virus infection. The potential application of the indirect immunoperoxidase IgA assay for serodiagnosis of CMV infections is discussed.