Antibody to coliform antigens in urine samples from patients with symptoms of urinary tract infection.

An enzyme linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect IgG, IgM, and IgA antibody in urine to a crude antigenic mixture prepared from six arbitrarily chosen strains of common coliform urinary pathogens. In a group of patients with symptoms of urinary tract infection 24 of 80 (30%) urine samples were positive on culture by conventional methods, 58 of 80 (72.5%) were positive for polymorphs on microscopy, and 72 of 80 (90%) were positive for antibody by ELISA. Secretory component was detected in 28 of 80 (35%) samples, and this is consistent with local antibody production. The results show that antibody can be detected in a wide range of urine samples using a simple antigen mixture, and this may form the basis of a useful test to diagnose urinary tract infection.