Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2002 Mar;9(2):344-7.
doi: 10.1128/cdli.9.2.344-347.2002.

Immunocytochemical method for early laboratory diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis

M G Sumi  1 , A Mathai, S Reuben, C Sarada, V V Radhakrishnan
Affiliations

Immunocytochemical method for early laboratory diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis

M G Sumi et al. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 2002 Mar.

Abstract

A simple immunocytochemical method was standardized for the direct demonstration of mycobacterial antigen in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens of patients with tuberculous meningitis (TBM). CSF-cytospin smears were prepared from 22 patients with a clinical diagnosis of TBM and also from an equal number of patients with nontuberculous neurological diseases (disease control). Immunocytological demonstration of mycobacterial antigens in the cytoplasm of monocytoid cells was attempted, by using rabbit immunoglobulin G to Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the primary antibody. Of the 22 CSF-cytospin smears from TBM patients, 16 showed positive immunostaining, while all of the CSF-cytospin smears from the disease control showed negative immunostaining for mycobacterial antigen. The technical aspects of this immunocytological method for the demonstration of mycobacterial antigens are simple, rapid, and reproducible, as well as specific, and therefore can be applied for the early diagnosis of TBM, particularly in patients in whom bacteriological methods did not demonstrate the presence of M. tuberculosis in the CSF.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
CSF-cytospin smears from TBM patients showing a mixture of monocytoid cells and lymphocytes (hematoxylin and eosin staining; magnification, ×200).
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Positive immunostaining in the cytoplasm of monocytoid cells in TBM patients by the ABC method (magnification, ×200).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Annamma, M., V. V. Radhakrishnan, and S. Sehgal. 1990. Diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays to detect mycobacterial antigen and antibody in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with tuberculous meningitis. Med. Microbiol. Immunol. 179:281-288. - PubMed
    1. Bal, V. R., J. Kamat, J. Kamath, and P. Kadoth. 1983. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for mycobacterial antigens. Ind. J. Med. Res. 78:477-483. - PubMed
    1. Brooks, I. B., D. C. Edman, C. C. Alley, R. B. Craven, and N. I. Girgis. 1980. Frequency-pulsed electron capture gas-liquid chromatography and the tryptophan color test for rapid diagnosis of tuberculous and other forms of lymphocytic meningitis. J. Clin. Microbiol. 12:208-215. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kox, L. F. F., S. Kuijper, and A. H. J. Kolk. 1995. Early diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis by polymerase chain reaction. Neurology 45:2228-2232. - PubMed
    1. Krambovitis, E., M. B. McIllmurray, P. E. Lock, W. Hendrickse, and H. Holzel. 1984. Rapid diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis by latex particle agglutination. Lancet ii:1229-1231. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources