Capture and Detection of Plasmodium vivax Lactate Dehydrogenase in a Bead-Based Multiplex Immunoassay

Laboratory detection of malaria antigens has proved valuable for research and epidemiological purposes. We recently developed a bead-based multiplex antigen assay for pan-Plasmodium and Plasmodium falciparum targets. Here, we report integration of a Plasmodium vivax-specific target to this multiplex panel: P. vivax lactate dehydrogenase (PvLDH). Within the multiplex panel, assay signal for purified PvLDH antigen titrated into the single-digit picogram range. Against a panel of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed samples from acute P. vivax infections (n = 36), sensitivity was 91.7% in using PvLDH detection for identifying the presence of parasites. Specificity against a panel of persons with no Plasmodium infection (n = 44) was 100%, and specificity against a panel of PCR-confirmed P. falciparum, Plasmodium malariae, or Plasmodium ovale infections (n = 164) was 90.2%. Addition of this PvLDH capture and detection system into the multiplex antigen panel will now allow for sensitive screening for species identification of both P. falciparum and P. vivax in the laboratory.