Open AccessRecombinant Coccidioides immitis complement-fixing antigen: detection of an epitope shared by C. immitis, Histoplasma capsulatum, and Blastomyces dermatitidis
Author(s) -
Mengshi Yang,
D. Mitchell Magee,
Leo Kaufman,
Yufan Zhu,
Rebecca A. Cox
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
clinical and diagnostic laboratory immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1098-6588
pISSN - 1071-412X
DOI - 10.1128/cdli.4.1.19-22.1997
Subject(s) - coccidioides , coccidioides immitis , antigen , blastomyces dermatitidis , titer , recombinant dna , virology , histoplasmosis , antibody , histoplasma , epitope , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , blastomycosis , medicine , biology , histoplasma capsulatum , biochemistry , gene
We undertook an investigation to assess the utility of a recombinant Coccidioides immitis complement-fixing (CF) antigen for detecting CF antibody in sera from patients with coccidioidomycosis. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays established that recombinant CF antigen and, for comparison, a commercially available coccidioidin were reactive with 19 of 19 sera from patients with active coccidioidomycosis. The recombinant antigen was significantly more sensitive than coccidioidin. The median titer obtained when patients' sera were assayed against recombinant CF antigen was 1:51,200 compared to 1:25,600 with coccidioidin (P < 0.027). The recombinant antigen was also more effective in distinguishing the antibody levels in sera from patients with pulmonary coccidioidomycosis than in sera from those with disseminated disease. Whereas patients with pulmonary disease showed a median antibody titer of 1:25,600, those with multifocal disease showed a median titer of 1:102,400 (P < 0.028). The recombinant CF antigen was found, however, to express an epitope(s) that reacted with sera from 6 of 12 patients with histoplasmosis and 2 of 12 patients with blastomycosis.