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Human astroviruses are an important cause of viral gastroenteritis globally, yet few studies have investigated the serostatus of adults to establish rates of previous infection. Here, we applied biolayer interferometry immunosorbent assay (BLI-ISA), a recently developed serosurveillance technique, to measure the presence of blood plasma IgG antibodies directed towards the human astrovirus capsid spikes from serotypes 1-8 in a cross-sectional sample of a United States adult population. The seroprevalence rates of IgG antibodies were 73% for human astrovirus serotype 1, 62% for serotype 3, 52% for serotype 4, 29% for serotype 5, 27% for serotype 8, 22% for serotype 2, 8% for serotype 6, and 8% for serotype 7. Notably, seroprevalence rates for capsid spike antigens correlate with neutralizing antibody rates determined previously. This work is the first seroprevalence study evaluating all eight classical human astrovirus serotypes.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in collaboration with the American Society for Apheresis, convened a State of the Science Symposium in November of 2012 due to the expanding application of therapeutic apheresis despite the lack of well-designed research to address its efficacy. This article reviews the opportunities that were presented at this meeting in the area of cardiovascular disease (CVD), specifically the use of columns to adsorb autoantibodies in dilated cardiomyopathy or damaging lipids in peripheral vascular disease. Understanding how absorption of these pathologic substances alters the inflammatory response in these disorders is important for the application of these technologies to the treatment of CVD., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Methods commonly used for antibody identification are hemagglutination (tube), column agglutination (gel), and solid-phase red cell adherence. Our AABB immunohematology reference laboratory (IRL) conducted a study to determine which antibody identification testing method was optimal for detecting all clinically significant antibodies. Patient specimens were sent to our IRL from August 2008 to September 2009. Routine testing was performed by tube method and then by manual gel and manual solid-phase methods. Of the 254 samples tested, 115 showed agreement in antibody identification with all three methods. The tube method identified all but six clinically significant antibodies. The gel method did not identify 59 clinically significant antibodies. Fifty-six clinically significant antibodies were not identified by solid-phase testing. Tube testing identified 27 clinically insignificant antibodies, primarily cold autoantibodies. Gel and solid-phase methodologies identified two and three cold autoantibodies, respectively. Solid-phase testing failed to detect 12 examples of anti-K. No identifiable pattern of reactivity was found in 13 samples using gel testing compared with 6 for solid-phase and none for tube methodologies. Hemagglutination tube method was the best choice for our IRL because it missed the fewest number of clinically significant alloantibodies. Benefits also included the ability to use various potentiating factors, incubation times, and temperature phases to enhance antibody identification. The tube method provided critical data for determining antibody clinical significance.

Six foods representative of a wide variety of processed, dried powder processed, and raw food types were analyzed by the Visual Immunoprecipitate Assay (VIP) for Salmonella and AOAC INTERNATIONAL culture method. Paired samples of each food type were simultaneously analyzed; one sample by the VIP method and one by the AOAC culture method. A total of 24 laboratories representing federal government agencies and private industry, in the United States and Canada, participated in this collaborative study. Food types were inoculated with species of Salmonella with the exception of raw ground chicken, which was naturally contaminated. No statistical differences (p < 0.05) were observed between VIP for Salmonella interpretation and the AOAC culture method for any inoculation level of any food type or naturally contaminated food. The method was adopted Official First Action status by AOAC INTERNATIONAL.

Sixty-nine farmer's lung patients and 28 normal controls from four countries (Finland, Switzerland, Canada and the United States) were investigated for antibody levels against 13 antigens commonly used for the screening panel for hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Of these antigens, eight were from the Medical College of Wisconsin (United States) and five were from the University of Kuopio (Finland). IgG antibodies against these antigens were studied in 97 sera using a sensitive biotin-avidin-linked enzyme immunoassay. The results indicate that the mean antibody titer against Micropolyspora faeni was highest in the United States (U.S.) followed by Finland. Both Finnish and U.S. antigens reacted almost identically against various groups of patients, although the degree of reactivity varied considerably. Higher antibody levels against Thermoactinomyces vulgaris were detected in Finnish patients than patients from other countries while patients from all four countries showed elevated levels of antibodies against T. candidus. This study demonstrates that antigens from identical species, irrespective of geographic origin, reacted similarly. However, variability between antigens of the same species was still considerably significant. Since the microbiological flora of moldy hay varies widely in different regions, the microbial species associated with the disease at a given geographical area has to be determined before selecting antigens for serological studies. The antigens currently used in various laboratories are crude preparations and need to be purified and standardized for dependable results. Until such antigens are available, all antigenic preparations used in the immunological evaluation of patients should be immunochemically characterized for their reproducibility and reliability although the ultimate goal should be to obtain standardized pure antigens for dependable immunodiagnosis of farmer's lung.

The sensitivity and specificity of isoelectric focusing (IEF) and immunoblotting have been combined for the routine typing of the plasma protein alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (Orosomucoid, ORM). Optimized conditions have been determined for a reliable classification of different ORM phenotypes. Phenotypic patterns of ORM in simple IEF gels correspond to those observed by other techniques. Addition of 6 M urea in a thin-layer IEF gel revealed additional, informative microheterogeneity in the ORM system, which cannot be detected in simple IEF gels. Applying the improved method, 239 White and 181 Black Americans have been screened to determine the distribution of ORM allele frequencies. Two common alleles, ORM*1 and ORM*2, have been observed and their frequencies are 0.5592 and 0.4408, and 0.6160 and 0.3840 in Whites and Blacks, respectively. Family studies confirm the genetic basis of this variation which is compatible with autosomal, codominant inheritance.

Screening for human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) antibodies was performed on sera from 39,898 blood donors at eight blood centers in geographically distinct areas of the United States. Ten donors (0.025 percent) showed evidence of HTLV-I seropositivity by enzyme immunoassays; this was confirmed by protein immunoblot and radioimmunoprecipitation. Seroprevalence rates ranged from 0 to 0.10 percent at the locations sampled, with HTLV-I antibodies found predominantly in donors from the southeastern and southwestern United States. Matched case-control interviews and laboratory studies were performed on five seropositive women and two seropositive men who participated in an identity-linked collection of sera from a subset of 33,893 donors at six of the eight blood centers. Four of the women and both men are black; one woman is Caucasian. Four of the seven seropositive individuals admitted to prior intravenous drug abuse or sexual contact with an intravenous drug user. Sexual contact with native inhabitants of an HTLV-I endemic area was the only identified risk factor for one male. The distribution of HTLV-I antibodies in this U.S. blood donor sample corroborates the previously reported epidemiology of this agent and suggests that additional donor screening measures, including the testing of donated blood for HTLV-I markers, may be necessary to prevent the spread of HTLV-I to transfusion recipients.