METHOD FOR IMPROVING DETECTION SENSITIVITY OF ANTI-HTLV ANTIBODY IN IMMUNOASSAY

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide means capable of compatibly achieving higher detection sensitivity and higher specificity than those of current HTLV antibody detection reagents and kits.SOLUTION: A fusion protein obtained by coupling a ferredoxin (FDX) protein derived from Pyrococcus furiosus to an N terminal of a partial peptide including a specific area of HTLV gp21 is used as an antigen in an immunoassay for detecting an anti-HTLV antibody in an analyte. By adding FEX to the N terminal of the gp21 partial peptide, the sensitivity of the anti-HTLV antibody detection is significantly improved, the specificity thereof is improved, and nonspecific reaction is reduced. 【課題】現行のHTLV抗体検出試薬・キットよりも高い検出感度と高い特異性を両立できる手段を提供すること。【解決手段】本発明では、検体中の抗HTLV抗体を検出する免疫測定における抗原として、HTLV gp21の特定の領域を含む部分ペプチドのN末端にパイロコッカス・フリオサス由来のフェレドキシン（FDX）タンパク質を連結した融合タンパク質を用いる。gp21部分ペプチドのN末端にFDXを付加することで、抗HTLV抗体検出の感度が飛躍的に向上し、さらには特異性も向上して非特異反応が低減する。【選択図】図４−２