HUMORAL RESPONSES TO MALASSEZIA-FURFUR SEROVARS A, B AND C IN NORMAL INDIVIDUALS OF VARIOUS AGES

A transferable solid-phase (TSP) ELISA was developed for the determination of antibody titres specific to Malassezia furfur serovars A, B and C in human sera. A survey of levels of class-specific antibodies (IgM, IgG and IgA) to M. furfur serovars A, B and C in relation to age (2-64 years; 60 individuals) demonstrated that individuals had immunity to M. furfur by the age of 2-3 years. There was no difference in either IgM or IgG levels into adulthood. The only age-related differences were lower IgM titres to the three serovars in the 60-64 year age-group compared with younger individuals. There was, however, a difference between titres of antibody specific to the three serovars. The mean reciprocal log2 IgM titre to serovar A (6.9) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that to serovar B (mean reciprocal log2 titre of 5.8), but not to serovar C (6.1). In contrast, the mean reciprocal log2 IgG titre to serovar A (6.5) was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than those to serovars B and C (mean reciprocal 1092 titre of 8.9 in both cases).