Tag: serology

Overview of Laboratory Tests for Cytomegalovirus

Introduction

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is considered the most important pathogen in transplant recipient patients as it can cause significant morbidity and mortality. Anti-CMV treatments have proven to be effective but are not without adverse side effects. Thus, there is a strong need for sensitive and reliable tests to diagnose and monitor active CMV infection. Several testing methodologies are available in today’s clinical laboratories to evaluate a patient’s CMV status: viral culture, serology, histopathology, pp65 antigenemia, and quantitative PCR. In this post, we will review the advantages and limitations of these tests.

Viral culture

Viral culture is performed most commonly by the shell vial assay (also known as rapid culture), in which a cell line (usually human fibroblast cells) is inoculated with patient sample by centrifugation. The virus is then detected by either direct or indirect fluorescent monoclonal antibody, providing results within 1-3 days. The centrifugation step greatly improves turnaround time when compared to traditional tube cell culture technique, which may take 2-3 weeks before a result can be reported as negative.

Culturing CMV has been largely replaced by newer methodologies like quantitative PCR and CMV antigenemia. This is due to relatively weaker sensitivity for diagnosing CMV infection compared to newer tests, as well as slower turnaround time. Viral cultures of urine, oral secretions, and stool are not recommended due to poor specificity; however, for diagnosis of congenital CMV, viral culture of urine or saliva samples is an acceptable alternative if PCR is not available.

Serology

CMV serostatus is an important metric to evaluate prior to patients receiving a hematopoietic or solid organ transplant. Serologic testing is done primarily via enzyme immunoassays and indirect immunofluorescence assays. These tests check for presence of anti-CMV immunoglobulin (Ig)M and IgG to provide evidence of recent or past infection. Outside of establishing serostatus (primarily in organ donors and recipients), serologic testing for CMV is not recommended in diagnosing or monitoring active CMV infection.

CMV IgM antibodies can be detected within the first two weeks of symptom development and can be present for another 4-6 months. IgG antibodies can be detected 2-3 weeks after symptoms develop, and remain present lifelong. These antibody measurements are particularly useful in determining risk of CMV acquisition in seronegative patients (negative for IgM and IgG) at time of transplantation. IgG titers can also be measured every 2-4 weeks to assess for CMV reactivation in seropositive patients. Since CMV IgG persistently remains in circulation, testing for it has a higher specificity compared to IgM, and thus is the preferred immunoglobulin to test for in establishing serostatus. Serologic tests can be falsely positive if patients have recently received IVIG or blood products, so testing on pretransfusion samples are preferred if possible.

Histopathology

Under the microscope, cells infected with CMV can express certain viral cytopathic effects. These infected cells classically show cytoplasmic and nuclear inclusions (owl eye nuclei) with cytoplasmic and nuclear enlargement. Additionally, immunohistochemistry (IHC) can stain antibodies specifically for CMV proteins to highlight infected cells, making histologic examination quicker and improving diagnostic sensitivity.

Histopathology can be useful in identifying tissue-invasive disease, such as CMV colitis or pneumonitis. Cases in which PCR testing is negative does not necessarily exclude tissue-invasive disease; thus, the diagnosis of tissue-invasive disease relies on histologic examination (with or without IHC) or possibly viral culture. On the other hand, a negative histologic result does not exclude tissue-invasive disease, possibly due to inadequate sampling, and shows the potential for weak diagnostic sensitivity.

pp65 antigenemia

CMV antigenemia testing uses indirect immunofluorescence to identify pp65 antigen, a CMV-specific matrix protein, in peripheral blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Whole blood specimens are lysed and then the leukocytes are cytocentrifuged onto a glass slide. Monoclonal antibodies to pp65 are applied, followed by a secondary FITC-labeled antibody. The slide is then read using a fluorescence microscope for homogenous yellow-green polylobate nuclear staining, indicating presence of CMV antigen-positive leukocytes. Studies have suggested that a higher number of positive cells correlates with an increased risk of developing active disease. The sensitivity of antigenemia testing is higher than that of viral culture and offers a turnaround time within several hours.

This test has been utilized since the 1980s, but has seen less use recently due to the increasing popularity of quantitative PCR. Antigenemia testing is labor intensive, and requires experienced and trained personnel to interpret the results (which can be somewhat subjective). This test also must be performed on whole blood specimens within 6-8 hours of collection due to decreasing sensitivity over time, which limits transportability of specimens. Additionally, It is not recommended to be run on patients with absolute neutrophil counts below 1000/mm3, due to decreased sensitivity. Despite these limitations, CMV antigenemia testing is still considered a viable choice for diagnosing and monitoring CMV infection, especially when viral load testing is not available.

Quantitative PCR

Quantitative real-team polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the most commonly used method to monitor patients at risk for CMV disease and response to therapy, as well as for diagnosing active CMV infection. The advantages of using a quantitative PCR assay include increased sensitivity over antigenemia testing, quick turnaround time, flexibility of using whole blood or plasma specimens for up to 3-4 days at room temperature, and the availability of an international reference standard published by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Several assays from Roche, Abbott, and Qiagen are available and FDA-approved. The targets of these assays vary, with some targeting polymerase and other targeting CMV major immediate early gene. These assays are all calibrated with the WHO international standard, which was developed in 2010 to help standardize viral load values among different labs when results are reported in international units/mL. The goal of this international standard is to decrease the interlaboratory variability of viral load, and determine the appropriate cut-offs for determining clinical CMV disease. There is still improvement to be made in this area, as variability still exists between labs.

Conclusion

There are several tests to determine the CMV status of patients. Some of these tests are suited for particular goals, such as serology for determining serostatus prior to organ transplantation, or histology and IHC to diagnose tissue-specific CMV disease. For diagnosis and monitoring of general CMV disease, the test of choice in most laboratories is quantitative PCR, which offers automated, quick and sensitive results. Antigenemia, while dated and labor intensive, is still an acceptable alternative when PCR is neither available nor cost-effective for smaller labs. Both of these testing methods are preferred over viral culture, which has poorer diagnostic sensitivity and relatively longer turnaround time.

Despite the numerous advantages quantitative PCR has, there is still variability in viral load counts among laboratories. This is due to varying DNA extraction techniques, gene targets used by PCR, and specimen types used. There is still a lot of work to be done in standardizing testing in regards to not just CMV, but also other viral pathogens like Epstein-Barr virus, BK virus, adenovirus and HHV6. Updated standards and increased use of standardized assays will hopefully decrease this variability between labs to improve testing results and in turn, improve patient care.

References

  1. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/overview-of-diagnostic-tests-for-cytomegalovirus-infection#H104411749
  2. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/congenital-cytomegalovirus-infection-clinical-features-and-diagnosis?topicRef=8305&source=related_link#H9542666
  3. Kotton CN, Kumar D, Caliendo AM, et al. Updated international consensus guidelines on the management of cytomegalovirus in solid-organ transplantation. Transplantation. 2013;96(4):333-60.
  4. Hayden RT, Sun Y, Tang L, et al. Progress in Quantitative Viral Load Testing: Variability and Impact of the WHO Quantitative International Standards. J Clin Microbiol. 2017;55(2):423-430.
  5. Kotton CN, Kumar D, Caliendo AM, et al. The Third International Consensus Guidelines on the Management of Cytomegalovirus in Solid-organ Transplantation. Transplantation. 2018;102(6):900-931.

-David Joseph, MD is a 2nd year anatomic and clinical pathology resident at Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, TX. He is planning on pursuing a fellowship in forensic pathology after completing residency. His interests outside of work include photography, playing bass guitar and video games, making (and eating) homemade ice cream, and biking.

Microbiology Case Study: A Male in his Early 20s with Generalized Body Aches

Clinical History

An African American male in his early 20s presented to the emergency department (ED) with complaints of a sore throat, headache, generalized body aches, and fatigue for the past week. He also noted intermittent fever and chills as well as some nausea with a decrease in his appetite. He had been seen multiple times in the ED recently for similar symptoms. His past medical history was non-contributory and he noted no significant travel or exposure history with the exception of attending a local party 10 days ago. His temperature was 100.5°F and vitals were otherwise normal. His physical exam was normal with the exception of dry mucous membranes indicating mild dehydration. Initial laboratory testing showed a leukopenia (white blood cell count of 1.5 TH/cm2) with 39% lymphocytes and rapid antigen testing for group A Streptococcus, influenza, and infectious mononucleosis were negative. The patient was admitted for further work up due to the prolonged nature of his symptoms.   

Laboratory Identification

Results from additional infectious disease testing are in the table below.

This pattern of results is most consistent an acute HIV infection.

Discussion

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an enveloped, single stranded RNA virus which belongs to the family Retroviridae. HIV is most commonly sexually transmitted via body fluids such as blood, semen, and vaginal secretions directly contacting mucosa membranes. HIV can also be transmitted due to needle stick injuries, blood transfusions, and transplacentally from infected mother to fetus or by breast feeding. Acute HIV illness presents as a mononucleosis-like syndrome with fever, pharyngitis, arthralgias, malaise, and weight loss. During this acute illness, the HIV RNA viral load is extremely high. After a period of clinical latency, which on average is approximately 10 years, there is a deterioration of the immune system, the CD4 count drops, and the patient is at risk for opportunistic infections and neoplastic diseases.

Based on the 2014 CDC/APHL guidelines, the initial screening test for HIV is an antigen-antibody combination assay. These immunoassay based tests detect the p24 antigen and antibodies to HIV-1 and HIV-2 (see image below). By testing for the p24 antigen in addition to HIV antibodies the time to a positive patient result is decreased (window period) as p24 is one of the first viral proteins to appear, even before antibodies are present.    

If the antigen-antibody test is repeatedly positive, the second step in the testing algorithm is an antibody differentiation assay. This test has taken the place of the Western blot and Western blot is no longer recommended in the diagnosis of HIV. If the antibody differentiation test is positive, the diagnosis of HIV-1 or HIV-2 is confirmed. As this step only detects the presence of antibodies, the differentiation test will be negative in an acute HIV infection.

If there is a discrepancy between the first two steps in the testing algorithm or an indeterminate result is obtained, the final step involves nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) to detect viral RNA. Viral RNA is the first HIV-1 specific marker to appear following infection. In the case of an acute or untreated long term infection, the viral load can approach levels up to 100 million copies.  

When additional history was obtained from our patient, he said he was sexually active with a new male partner in the past few weeks and did not use protection. He stated he had been treated with Chlamydia in the past. Further testing for CD4 count, other opportunist & sexually transmitted infections, and HIV genotype testing was performed and outpatient HIV care was arranged for the patient. 

-Lisa Stempak, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Pathology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS. She is certified by the American Board of Pathology in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology as well as Medical Microbiology. She is the Director of Clinical Pathology as well as the Microbiology and Serology Laboratories. Her interests include infectious disease histology, process and quality improvement, and resident education.