Abstract
We have used an aqueous toluene extraction procedure to obtain antigens from mature spherules of Coccidioides immitis. This extract contained many antigens as determined by immunoblotting and two-dimensional immunoelectrophoretic studies. These included antigens with specificity for tube precipitin-type antibodies having molecular weights ≥ 100 KDa. The extract also displayed lymphocyte-transforming activity when tested on human peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes from donors who react to coccidioidal skin tests but elicited no such stimulation of cells from persons whose coccidioidal skin tests were nonreactive. At high concentrations of the extract, lymphocyte transformation did not occur, a finding that could not be explained by nonspecific toxicity. When gel filtration was employed to separate antigens by size, tube precipitin-like activity and specific coccidioidal delayed-type hypersensitivity displayed overlap, although only the latter activity was apparent in lower molecular weight pools.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 65-80 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 1988 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Microbiology (medical)
- Infectious Diseases