A Sensitive Assay for Detection of Deoxythymidine Kinase and its Application to Herpesvirus Diagnosis

Abstract

The herpesviruses comprise a group of very complex viruses. A number of antigens are encoded by the viral genome, some of which carry enzymatic functions. A method for measuring antibodies against a single antigen without previous protein purification is to determine the capacity of sera to block a specific enzymatic function. The human herpesviruses are known to encode their own DNA polymerases and deoxyribo-nucleases. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella zoster virus (VZV) have, in addition, their own deoxythymidine kinases (dTk) (for review see Cheng et al. 1979). The virus-encoded enzymes are immunogenic, and antisera prepared by immunization of animals with extracts from infected or transformed cells are capable of neutralizing the enzymatic activity. So far only a few studies have been reported concerning the occurrence of antibodies against virus-induced enzymes in connection with human infections. Rawls et al. (1974) screened a large number of human sera and found that they contained antibodies against HSV dTk only in exceptional cases. In contrast, Cheng et al. (1978) have reported that human sera frequently are positive for anti-bodies against HSV dTk. Antibodies against HSV and Epstein-Barr virus deoxyribo-nucleases have also been reported (Cheng et al. 1978, 1980).