Medical expert of the article
New publications
Respiratory mycoplasmosis: detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae antigen by direct immunofluorescence
Last reviewed: 05.07.2025
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Respiratory mycoplasmosis. Detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae antigen in the material by direct immunofluorescence
Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a causative agent of human respiratory tract diseases, parasitizing on cell membranes. The proportion of respiratory mycoplasmoses in the general group of respiratory diseases varies for different population groups from 35% to 40%. Mycoplasmal pneumonias account for 10-17% of cases of total pneumonia. Epidemics of pneumonia caused by M.pneumonia may develop at intervals of several years, and the incidence of the disease may be twice its usual level. Laboratory diagnostics of the disease is carried out mainly by serological methods.
Rules for collecting material for research. Clinical material (lavage fluid, nasopharyngeal smears) is obtained using cotton swabs, the collected material is applied in a thin layer to the surface of a clean, degreased glass slide, dried in air and fixed.
The obtained smear with the patient's material is processed with polyclonal antibodies to the cytoplasmic membrane of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, labeled with FITC. When viewing the preparation in a fluorescent microscope, as a result of the Ag-AT reaction, green fluorescence of mycoplasmas is determined. A positive assessment of the study results assumes the detection of at least 10 bright green granules in the preparation, clearly visible against the reddish background of the preparation. If a smaller number of luminous granules are obtained in the preparation and there are no epithelial cells in the preparation, the study is recommended to be repeated. If the number of epithelial cells in the preparation is sufficient, and the number of luminous granules is less than 10, the result is considered negative.
[