Nippon Saikingaku Zasshi

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A new method using immune lysis of liposomes was investigated for detecting antibodies to Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae). Multilamellar liposomes were composed of dicetylphosphate, cholesterol, DL-β, γ-dipalmitoyl-α-lecithin and a lipid fraction of M. pneumoniae as specific antigen. As a release marker, β-galactosidase was entrapped in the internal water phase of liposomes. When the liposomes were incubated with antibodies to M. pneumoniae, complement and substrate (o-nitrophenyl-β-D-galactopyranoside), lysis of liposomes, followed by the liberation of marker enzyme (β-galactosidase), was detected by o-nitrophenol formation as a result of interaction between the marker enzyme and substrate. This lysis of liposomes was dependent on the antibodies to M. pneumoniae and the production of o-nitrophenol correlated with the concentration of antiserum, lipid antigen or complement. It was confirmed that the titers of antibodies determined by this method correlated well with those determined by the conventional complement fixation test. Therefore, this liposome lysis test might offer a practical and sensitive method for detecting antibodies to M. pneumoniae.

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