PRODUCTION OF ANTIBODIES TO ANTIGENS OF CANDIDA-ALBICANS IN CBA/H MICE

Reported targets of the specific immune responses to Candida albicans in human candidiasis include a 47-kDa breakdown product of a 90-kDa heat shock protein (HSP 90) (R. Matthews and J. Burnie, PEMS Microbiol. Lett. 60:25-30, 1989) and the 48-kDa enolase (K. M. Franklyn, J. R. Warmington, A. K. Ott, and R. B. Ashman, Immunol. Cell Biol. 68:173-178, 1990). These proteins are immunodominant antigens of C. albicans. Western blotting (immunoblotting) and immunoprecipitation were used to investigate the humoral response in a mouse model of systemic candidiasis. Resolution of systemic candidiasis in CBA/H mice is associated with a high level of antibody reactivity to C. albicans antigens. A significant antibody response against a non-HSP antigen of 96 kDa which was distinct from the C. albicans HSP 90 antigen was detected. Significant antibody reactivity against an HSP of 75 kDa was also detected: We concluded that resolution of C. albicans infections in CBA/H mice was associated with antibodies to an HSP and a non-HSP of 75 and 96 kDa, respectively.