An ELISA employing a Haemophilus influenzae type b oligosaccharide-human serum albumin conjugate correlates with the radioantigen binding assay

An ELISA measuring total Ig antibodies to the capsular polysaccharide of Haemophilus influenzae type b (HbPs) in human sera using an antigen composed of Haemophilus b oligosaccharides conjugated to human serum albumin (HbO-HA) was shown to have an excellent correlation to the radioantigen binding assay (RABA). When 214 sera with different anti-HbPs levels were assayed for total Ig by HbO-HA ELISA and by RABA the correlation coefficient was 0.917 and the paired t test p values was 0.575. Use of competitive ELISA employing soluble HbPs, HbO-HA and human albumin as competitors, showed that the HbO-HA ELISA was specific for antibodies to HbPs. The HbO-HA ELISA yielded reproducible results both within and between laboratories. The HbO-HA ELISA can also be used to determine the isotype of anti-HbPs antibodies by using isotype specific enzyme conjugates. The sum of the IgG, IgA and IgM HbO-HA ELISA results had excellent correlation to the RABA results (correlation coefficient = 0.976). Thus, the HbO-HA ELISA can be substituted for the classical RABA and also be utilized for quantitating the isotype of the anti-HbPs antibodies.