ANTIBODIES IN HISTOPLASMOSIS DETECTED BY USE OF YEAST AND MYCELIAL ANTIGENS IN IMMUNODIFFUSION AND ELECTROIMMUNODIFFUSION

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Abstract
Yeast-phase filtrate antigens from 8 strains of H. capsulatum and mycelial-phase histoplasmin were reacted with 37-40 [human] histoplasmosis sera by immunodiffusion, template immunodiffusion and electroimmunodiffusion. There was wide variation in yeast-phase reactivity with sensitivities from 3.2% for 1 strain in immunodiffusion to 100% for 4 strains in electroimmunodiffusion. Histoplasmin reactivity ranged from 87.2% in immunodiffusion to 97.4% in template immunodiffusion. Analysis of the sera for antibody [Ab] types revealed that 100% had the M Ab, 63% had the H Ab and 94% had other unidentified Ab, almost all of which were yeast-phase specific. The M Ab was detected most frequently by use of histoplasmin in template immunodiffusion whereas the frequencies of detection of the H and unidentified Ab were highest with yeast-phase filtrates in template immunodiffusion. A comparison of the complement fixation [CF] data for some of the sera with precipitin results in template immunodiffusion and electroimmunodiffusion revealed that all sera were positive in CF and all had the M and yeast-phase-specific Ab. The histoplasmin CF titers were correlated with the quantities measured by electroimmunodiffusion of M and H Ab and with the number of yeast-phase-specific Ab. In tests for specificities of antigens, the only cross reactions were between 2 blastomycosis sera and 1 yeast-phase filtrate in electroimmunodiffusion.