Detection of Antibody in Dogs with Blastomycosis Using Blastomyces dermatitidis Yeast Phase Lysate Antigens

Blastomycosis is a systemic mycosis that can prove fatal, particularly among the immunocompromised and is caused by the inhalation of the thermally dimorphic fungal agents Blastomyces dermatitidis. Some studies have shown that blastomycosis is generally readily treatable with systemic antifungal drugs once it is correctly diagnosed; however, delayed diagnosis is very common except in highly endemic areas. In this study, the authors aimed to investigate the efficacy of two yeast-phase lysate antigens in detecting B. dermatitidis antibodies in various dog sera.

Two yeast lysate antigens were prepared from dog (ERC-2, Wisconsin) and soil (85, Georgia) isolates of B. dermatitidis in the experiment. Thirty-eight serum specimens from dogs with diagnosed blastomycosis were provided by Dr. A.M. Legendre (University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, Knoxville, Tennessee). And the ability of each yeast lysate reagent to detect antibodies in the above serum specimens was determined using the indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

The results showed that ERC-2 lysate antigen exhibited the greatest mean absorbance value (2.359) when the 38 serum specimens from dogs with blastomycosis were assayed using the ELISA as compared to a mean absorbance value of 2.189 with the 85 lysate antigen. In contrast, a slightly greater mean absorbance value of 2.688 was obtained with the 85 lysate as compared to a value of 2.418 with the ERC-2 reagent with the pre-treatment sera. The mean absorbance values obtained when the 30-day post-treatment sera were assayed were 2.452 with the ERC-2 antigen and 2.303 with the 85 antigen. The ERC-2 lysate exhibited a similar pattern of reactivity with the 60-day post-treatment serum specimens with a mean absorbance value of 2.150 versus a value of 2.073 with the 85 lysate.

In conclusion, this study indicates the potential for further evaluations of the two lysate antigens with regard to antibody detection in dog sera with the ERC-2 reagent slightly more reactive than the 85 lysate antigen.

Article by Bryn C. Kennell, et al, from USA and Colombia.

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