Validation of an Immunodiagnostic Assay for Detection of 13 Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotype-Specific Polysaccharides in Human Urine

ABSTRACT To improve the clinical diagnosis of pneumococcal infection in bacteremic and nonbacteremic community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), a Luminex technology-based multiplex urinary antigen detection (UAD) diagnostic assay was developed and validated. The UAD assay can simultaneously detect 13 different serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae by capturing serotype-specific S. pneumoniae polysaccharides (PnPSs) secreted in human urine. Assay specificity is achieved by capturing the polysaccharides with serotype-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) on spectrally unique microspheres. Positivity for each serotype was based on positivity cutoff values calculated from a standard curve run on each assay plate together with positive- and negative-control urine samples. The assay is highly specific, since significant signals are detected only when each PnPS was paired with its homologous MAb-coated microspheres. Validation experiments demonstrated excellent accuracy and precision. The UAD assay and corresponding positivity cutoff values were clinically validated by assessing 776 urine specimens obtained from patients with X-ray-confirmed CAP. The UAD assay demonstrated 97% sensitivity and 100% specificity using samples obtained from patients with bacteremic, blood culture-positive CAP. Importantly, the UAD assay identified Streptococcus pneumoniae (13 serotypes) in a proportion of individuals with nonbacteremic CAP, a patient population for which the pneumococcal etiology of CAP was previously difficult to assess. Therefore, the UAD assay provides a specific, noninvasive, sensitive, and reproducible tool to support vaccine efficacy as well as epidemiological evaluation of pneumococcal disease, including CAP, in adults.