Immunoblot for densitometric estimation of antibodies (IDEA): a useful method for quantification of intrathecally produced antibodies against individual antigens in infectious diseases of the central nervous system

Abstract Intrathecally produced antibodies specific for the infectious agent can be shown by immunoblot. A quantification is practicable by titration. Densitometric evaluation of the immunoblot by a new technique, IDEA (immunoblot for densitometric estimation of antibodies), does not only render titration unnecessary, but also has the advantage of presenting the differentiated local immune response against individual antigens of the infectious agent. Preliminary studies for the densitometric evaluation were performed with a measles virus immunoblot which had been developed with a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sample of a patient suffering from multiple sclerosis containing high antibody titers. A peroxidase-labeled anti-immunoglobulin antibody had been added. The intensity of the color reaction on the membrane dependent on the antibody concentration follows a saturation kinetics comparable to the Michaelis-Menten kinetics in enzymology. Thus, indices for the intrathecal antibody synthesis of each individual viral antigen can be calculated by taking the permeability of the blood-CSF barrier into consideration. This method is illustrated in a patient with zoster meningoencephalitis.