Journal
VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY
Volume 203, Issue 1-2, Pages 250-252Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2014.01.007
Keywords
Antigen test; Dirofilaria immitis; Dog; Heartworm; Heat treatment
Categories
Funding
- Krull-Ewing Endowment at Oklahoma State University
- National Center for Veterinary Parasitology
- Bayer Animal Health, Novartis Animal Health, and Merial, Limited, a Sanofi Company
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Diagnosis of Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs is largely dependent on detection of antigen in canine serum, plasma, or whole blood, but antigen may be bound in immune complexes and thus not detected. To develop a model for antigen blocking, we mixed serum from a microfilaremic, antigen-positive dog with that of a hypergammaglobulinemic dog not currently infected with D. immitis and converted the positive sample to antigen-negative; detection of antigen was restored when the mixed sample was heat-treated, presumably due to disruption of antigen/antibody complexes. A blood sample was also evaluated from a dog that was microfilaremic and for which microfilariae were identified as D. immitis by morphologic examination. Antigen of D. immitis was not detected in this sample prior to heating but the sample was strongly positive after heat treatment of whole blood. Taken together, our results indicate that blood samples from some dogs may contain factors that inhibit detection of antigen of D. immitis, and that heat treatment of these samples prior to testing could improve the sensitivity of these assays in some patients. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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