ANTIGENS OF ASPERGILLUS-FUMIGATUS .2. ELECTROPHORETIC AND CLINICAL-STUDIES

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  • 1 January 1983
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 49  (4) , 657-665
Abstract
Cell sap (CS) and culture filtrate (CF) preparations of Aspergillus fumigatus strains Ag-507, Ag-515 and Ag-535 were analyzed by 2 dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE; i.e., 1st dimension isoelectric focusing, 2nd dimension sodium dodecyl sulfate gradient pore gel), which enabled detection of strain- and species-specific components. In CS preparations, CS2, a fraction isolated from strain Ag-507 by gel filtration, consists of the major protein componts in the CS of the 3 A. fumigatus strains tested. Culture filtrate preparations of the 3 A. fumigatus strains analyzed by 2-DE exhibited patterns dissimilar to the CS patterns, and to each other, presumably due to proteolysis. Culture filtrate preparations are a less reliable source of standardized antigens than CS preparations. CS2 has a major component with a MW of .apprx. 150,000 and an sapp [apparent sedimentation coefficient] of 6.3 S. CS2 reacts on immunoelectrophoresis, producing one major precipitin arc with aspergilloma or allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) patient sera. Antibody titers of the IgG and IgA classes to CS2, as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), were similar in aspergilloma and ABPA patients; IgG titers were higher than IgA. Similar titers were also obtained utilizing sera of patients that did or did not exhibit precipitating antibodies to CS2. In the diagnosis of ABPA, skin tests with CS2 were comparable in specificity to currently available commercial preparations. CS2 is a standardized major antigenic preparation of the CS of 3 A. fumigatus strains which is diagnostically useful.