Anti-BKV IgG ELISA kit, 96 tests

ELISA-VIDITEST anti-BKV IgG kit is a solid-phase immunoanalytical test for the detection of specific IgG antibodies to polyomavirus BK (BKV) in human serum and plasma. Recombinant antigens used in the kit do not cross-react with other polyomaviruses (polyomavirus JC, Merkel cell polyomavirus). The kit is used for serological diagnostics of diseases caused by or associated with BKV (e.g., BK-viral nephropathy, haemorrhagic cystitis, urethral stenosis, infections of upper and lower respiratory tract mainly in immunodeficient patients) and for risk assessment of infection transmission and subsequent complications in graft acceptors.

Anti-BKV antibodies are present in 50-80% of the adult population. Primary infection occurs mostly during childhood. In most cases, it is asymptomatic or brings on an acute respiratory disease and then continues to the latent phase, which is characterized by the long-term presence of anamnestic IgG antibodies in serum. In latently infected people, the virus can repeatedly reactivate, or the patient can be re-infected by other BKV serotypes. Reactivation/reinfection can be accompanied by temporary viremia or viruria. In immunodeficient people, it can cause various diseases of urinary tract (haemorrhagic cystitis, urethral stenosis), kidney (BK-viral nephropathy), central nervous system (encephalitis, polyradiculoneuritis), lung (intersticial pneumonitis) or vasculitis. Absence of anti-BKV antibodies may indicate a patient’s susceptibility to primary infection, which can increase complication risks. Primary infection can be diagnosed using anti-BKV IgG seroconversion. A significant increase in antibody levels in paired serum/plasma samples can indicate reinfection or virus reactivation.

In the anti-BKV IgG test, the surface of the wells is coated with recombinant species-specific BKV antigen. If present in the serum samples, respective antibodies bind to the immobilized antigen. In the next step, bound antibodies react with anti-human IgG antibodies labeled with horseradish peroxidase. The amount of bound labeled antibodies is determined by colorimetric enzymatic reaction. Negative sera do not react and the mild change in color, if present, may be attributed to the reaction background.