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Improved detection of HIV p24 antigen in serum after acid pretreatment
M A Rodríguez-Iglesias1, J R Alvarez, A Vergara
1Department of Microbiology, Puerto Real University Hospital, University of Cádiz, Spain.
Abstract:
HIV-1 p24 antigen was detected in 554 sera (509 from HIV-1 seropositive individuals and 45 sera from seronegative controls) using a conventional method with acid pretreatment of the sample in order to separate the p24 antigen/anti-p24 antibody immune complexes. In asymptomatic individuals there was a substantial increase in antigen detection (48.2% vs 8.4%). Similar results were also observed in ARC (59.1% vs 12.2%) and AIDS patients (85.7% vs 37.1%). It can be concluded that the acid treatment improves the sensitivity of conventional techniques to detect HIV-1 p24 antigen.