Immunoassays are more sensitive and more specific than most other clinical analytic
assays; however, because animal antisera are essential parts of these assays they
are subject to unique immunoglobulin-related interferences. Most of the analytic antisera
are produced in animals, such as mice, rabbits, and goats. If the human immune system
is exposed to these animal proteins, polyspecific heterophile antibodies may be produced
that subsequently are present in the laboratory specimens and may interfere with immunoassays
that use antisera from those species. In addition to the normal immune response to
foreign exogenous proteins, patients who have autoimmune disorders also may produce
autoantibodies to chemicals or proteins that are endogenous to that patient. These
autoantibodies can interfere with analytic assays that are targeted to measure these
endogenous entities. The nature of the antibody interferences and their potential
adverse effects on the assay depend on the format used for the immunoassay and the
characteristics of the analytic and endogenous antibodies. To help understand these
potential interferences, the basic formats of competitive and immunometric immunoassay
formats is reviewed [
[1]
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