Cross-reacting human and rabbit antibodies to antigens of Histoplasma capsulatum, Candida albicans, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae

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Abstract
Using Western blots of electrophoretically separated antigens, human antibodies were shown to react most frequently to antigens shared by 3 fungi (H. capsulatum, C. albicans and S. cerevisiae). Reactivity to antigens specific for individual fungi was relatively uncommon. The pattern of reactivity could not distinguish infected patients from uninfected controls. Rabbits immunized with extracts of each fungus also produced antibodies to cross-reactive or shared antigens of the other 2 fungi. Preimmune sera showed similar but lower reactivity with the same fungal antigens. The preimmunization antibodies, which probably resulted from earlier fungal colonization or inapparent infections, may predispose the immune responses elicited by the vaccinations. A similar mechanism likely explains the results with human sera.