Urinary immunoglobulins in viral diagnosis
Written By : Dr. Nandita Mohan
Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Published On 2022-08-27 03:30 GMT | Update On 2022-08-27 03:30 GMT
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Antibody detection by serological methods gained a lot of interest in recent years and has become the backbone of virological diagnosis. Despite the detection of all five classes of immunoglobulins in urine, not much attention has been paid to the use of urine as a diagnostic sample to detect viral antibodies.
A review in Indian Journal of Medical Research reveals unlike venipuncture, this non-invasive mode of sample collection can help cover all age groups, especially paediatric and old age patients, where blood collection is difficult. Using urine as a sample is also economical and involves lesser risk in sample collection.
Immunoglobulins are found to be stable in urine for a prolonged period; however, fresh urine or samples stored for a short duration at 4°C are ideal for diagnosis. In a study on the stability of urinary proteins under various conditions, it was found that IgG was stable at room temperature for seven days and at 4°C for a month with and without preservatives, whereas the IgG concentration was found to decrease upon storage at −20°C without preservative.
The antibodies are found to be stable in urine at room temperature for a prolonged period, which makes the sample transport management easier as well. A few recent studies, have also shown that the detection limit of antibodies in urine is at par with serum or other clinical material. So, the ease insample collection, availability of samples in large quantity and stability of immunoglobulins in urine for prolonged periods can make urine an ideal sample for viral diagnosis.
Reference: Mohandas, Sreelekshmy1; Balan, Sudeep2; Mourya, Devendra T.3,. Urinary immunoglobulins in viral diagnosis: An overview. Indian Journal of Medical Research: January 2022 - Volume 155 - Issue 1 - p 11-21 doi: 10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_808_18.
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