The Hemagglutination Inhibition Assay to Detect Serum Antibodies Against a Target Antigen

Abstract

Source: Kaufmann, L. et al., An Optimized Hemagglutination Inhibition (HI) Assay to Quantify Influenza-specific Antibody Titers. J. Vis. Exp. (2017)

The video demonstrates a hemagglutination inhibition assay for detecting serum antibodies against specific antigens. Confirmation of hemagglutination inhibition in the test well and hemagglutination in the control well is achieved through distinct visual patterns. This assay plays a crucial role in assessing immune response, vaccine effectiveness, and studying viral infections in virology and immunology.

Protocol

All procedures involving human participants have been performed in compliance with the institutional, national, and international guidelines for human welfare and have been reviewed by the local institutional review board. 1. Serum Collection Collect serum samples from humans at time points of interest. For this study, we collected sera at days 0 (time of influenza vaccination), +7, +30, +60, and +180 after vaccination. To obtain the serum, centrifuge the…

Representative Results

Figure 1: Principle of hemagglutination and hemagglutination inhibition. No hemagglutination occurs in a negative control situation without viruses and antibodies (left column), and erythrocytes hemagglutinate only in the presence of influenza virus (middle column). However, when the hemagglutinin of the influenza virus is blocked by virus-specific antibodies then no hemagglutination can occ…

Materials

25 ml Disposable Multichannel Pipette Reservoirs	Integra	4312
8-well PCR tubes	Brand GMBH	781332	For serum aliquots
96-well microtiter plate, U-shaped	TPP	92097	For HI assay when using mammalian RBCs
96-well microtiter plate, V-shaped	Corning Costar	3897	For HI assay when using avian RBCs
Aqua ad iniect. Steril	Bichsel AG	1000004	For preparing influenza antigen and cholera filtrate solutions
Chicken RBC (10%)	Cedarlane	CLC8800	10% suspension of chicken red blood cells in Alsever's solution
Cholera filtrate	Sigma-Aldrich	C8772	Used as receptor destroying enzyme (RDE)
Dulbecco's PBS	Sigma-Aldrich	D8537	For diluting the serum samples, RBCs and antigens
Eppendorf Multichannel pipette, 12-channel, 10-100 µl	Sigma-Aldrich	Z683949
Eppendorf Multichannel pipette, 8-channel, 10-100 µl	Sigma-Aldrich	Z683930
Guinea Pig RBC (10%)	Cedarlane	CLC1800	10% suspension of guinea pig red blood cells in Alsever's solution
Influenza Anti-A/California/7/09 HA serum	NIBSC	14/134	Used as positive control at the HI assay
Influenza Anti-A/Switzerland/9715293/2013-like HA serum	NIBSC	14/272	Used as positive control at the HI assay
Influenza Anti-A/Texas/50/2012-Like HA Serum	NIBSC	13/178	Used as positive control at the HI assay
Influenza Anti-B/Brisbane/60/2008-HA serum	NIBSC	13/254	Used as positive control at the HI assay
Influenza Anti-B/Massachusetts/02/2012 HA serum	NIBSC	13/182	Used as positive control at the HI assay
Influenza antigen A/California/7/09 (H1N1)(NYMC-X181)	NIBSC	12/168	Inactivated, partially purified A/California/7/09 (H1N1)(NYMC-X181)  virus (ca. 46µgHA/ml)
Influenza antigen A/Switzerland/9715293/2013 (NIB88)	NIBSC	14/254	Inactivated, partially purified A/Switzerland/9715293/2013 (NIB88) virus (ca. 55µgHA/ml)
Influenza antigen A/Texas/50/2012 (H3N2)(NYMCX-223)	NIBSC	13/112	Inactivated, partially purified A/Texas/50/2012 (H3N2)(NYMCX-223) virus (ca. 74µgHA/ml)
Influenza antigen B/Brisbane/60/2008	NIBSC	13/234	Inactivated, partially purified B/Brisbane/60/2008 virus (ca. 42µgHA/ml)
Influenza antigen B/Massachusetts/02/2012	NIBSC	13/134	Inactivated, partially purified B/Massachusetts/02/2012 virus (ca. 35µgHA/ml)
Serum-Tubes	S-Monovette, Sardstedt	01.1601.100	For serum extraction with clotting activator
Turkey RBC (10%)	Cedarlane	CLC1180	10% suspension of turkey red blood cells in Alsever's solution
Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS)	Gibco