Thus, the function of pDC as Ag-presenting cells could be exploited to induce immunity or tolerance. To achieve this, Ag must be conjugated this website with anti-pDC antibodies that selectively target them to pDC. This technology

has been successfully used for classical DC, inducing effective immune responses 121–123. Targeting Ag to human pDC has also been described to some extent using anti-Blood DC Ag-2 119 and anti-DC immunoreceptor antibodies 124. In mice, Ag could be targeted to Siglec-H 125, 126 and PDC-TREM 127; however, unlike Siglec-H, which is constitutively expressed by pDC, PDC-TREM is only expressed by TLR-activated pDC. Targeting Ag to pDC via these two molecules could provide valuable insight into the Ag-presenting capacity of unstimulated versus activated pDC and the tolerogenic or immunogenic responses that might ensue. M. Swiecki is supported by the NRSA training grant 5 T32 DK007296. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no financial or commercial

conflict of interest. See accompanying article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eji.201040498 “
“Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were developed for the detection of IgG, IgG4 and IgE antibodies against Strongyloides stercoralis. A commercial ELISA (IVD Research, USA) was also used, and the sensitivities and specificities of the four assays were determined. Serum samples from 26 patients with S. stercoralis infection and 55 Kinase Inhibitor Library chemical structure patients with other infections or no infection were analysed. Sensitivities of the IgG4, IgG, IgE and IgG (IVD) assays

were 76·9%, 84·6%, 7·7% and 84·6%, respectively, while the specificities were 92·7%, 81·8%, 100% and 83·6%, respectively. If filariasis samples were excluded, the specificities of the IgG4-ELISA and both IgG-ELISAs increased to 100% and 98%, respectively. A significant positive correlation was observed between IgG- and IgG4-ELISAs (r = 0·4828; P = 0·0125). IgG- and IgG- (IVD) ELISAs either (r = 0·309) were positively correlated, but was not significant (P = 0·124). Meanwhile there was no correlation between IgG4- and IgG- (IVD) ELISAs (r = 0·0042; P = 0·8294). Sera from brugian filariasis patients showed weak, positive correlation between the titres of antifilarial IgG4 and the optical densities of anti-Strongyloides IgG4-ELISA (r = 0·4544, P = 0·0294). In conclusion, the detection of both anti-Strongyloides IgG4 and IgG antibodies could improve the serodiagnosis of human strongyloidiasis. Furthermore, patients from lymphatic filariasis endemic areas who are serologically diagnosed with strongyloidiasis should also be tested for filariasis. Strongyloidiasis poses a significant health threat to humans, as approximately 30–100 million people are infected worldwide, mostly in tropical and subtropical countries [1, 2].