PCR offers new way to detect disease antibodies

Abstract

To diagnose some conditions, such as autoimmune disease, doctors often look for certain antibodies in patients’ blood. Unfortunately, these proteins can be few and far between. Now, researchers have developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for detecting such antibodies that is 1,000 times as sensitive as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the gold-standard test (ACS Cent. Sci. 2016, DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.5b00340). In ELISA, antigen proteins sit on a plastic slide and bind to antibodies present in a sample, capturing them for detection. But “some antigen proteins unfold when bound to the ELISA plate,” which prevents antibodies from binding them, says Carolyn R. Bertozzi, a chemist at Stanford University and editor-in-chief of ACS Central Science. Also, ELISA isn’t usually sensitive enough to detect the low antibody levels in saliva or urine or in blood during the early stages of a disease. In the new study, Bertozzi’s team wanted to detect antibodies associated