ArticleParasites & vectors2023
Pre-treatment of canine plasma with heat, rather than acid, efficiently enhances Dirofilaria immitis antigen detection.
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Improved specificity of a probe-based real-time PCR for the detection of Dirofilaria immitis in canine blood.Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- Evaluation of diagnostic techniques for early detection of heartworm in experimentally infected dogs: identification of Dirofilaria immitis-derived microRNA in the initial 28 weeks post-inoculation.Parasites & vectors · 2024Article
- Heat Treatment Augments Antigen Detection ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe dissociation of antigen-antibody complexes has been utilized to enhance the accuracy of serological tests for infectious diseases, including Dirofilaria immitis. Currently, the antigen detected by available tests is primarily a glycoprotein found in the reproductive tract of female worms. However, this antigen can become inaccessible when bound to excessive circulating antibodies, leading to reduced test sensitivity and false-negative results. Acid and heat treatments of the sera or plasma have been established as reliable methods for inducing immune complex dissociation (ICD). Previous antigen testing for heartworm infection in dogs and cats has demonstrated that these treatments improve the diagnostic sensitivity without compromising specificity. This study aims to evaluate the performance of four distinct ICD methods in the detection of D. immitis antigen.
methodsWe utilized twofold serial dilutions of a well-characterized plasma (ranging from 1:2 to 1:4096) obtained from a D. immitis-infected dog to simulate the diverse antigen levels encountered in real-life infected dogs. The presence of antigen in the diluted samples, both without treatment and treated with four ICD protocols, was assessed in triplicate visually using DiroCHEK
resultsThe highest dilution at which color changes were observed was 1:128 for untreated samples and for samples subjected to acid treatments in ICD-3 and the hybrid ICD-4 protocol. In contrast, both heat treatment protocols (ICD-1 and ICD-2) exhibited color changes at a 512-fold dilution. The OD values in samples subjected to heat treatment were significantly higher than those in untreated samples, up to dilutions of 512-fold. Although OD values tended to be higher in samples subjected to acid treatment and the hybrid protocol compared to untreated samples up to a 128-fold dilution, this difference was not significant as the samples underwent further dilution.
conclusionsOur findings affirm that heat treatments, rather than acid treatment, efficiently enhance the detection of D. immitis antigen by liberating the sequestered antigen from the immune complexes.
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