title: Identification of a 65-kDa mannoprotein as a main target of human cell-mediated immune response to Candida albicans.
abstract: To identify molecular targets of anticandidal cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in humans, a highly immunogenic mannoprotein fraction (MP-F2) of Candida albicans was studied. SDS-PAGE and gel-permeation chromatography separated MP-F2 into polydisperse mannoproteins of > 200-31.5 kDa. However, only a 65-kDa constituent specifically induced proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Lymphoproliferation was accompanied by production of interleukin (IL)-1 beta, interferon-gamma, and IL-6 but not IL-4. MP-F2- and MP-65-induced PBMC proliferation was inhibited by an antagonist anti-T cell receptor antibody. Neither the purified protein derivative of Mycobacterium tuberculosis nor MP-65 activated naive lymphocytes from umbilical cord blood, although these cells proliferated extensively in response to both phytohemagglutinin and IL-2. These data strongly suggest that MP-65 is an immunodominant mannoprotein antigen that is ordinarily expressed as a target of anti-Candida CMI in healthy humans.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bacteriology and Medical Mycology, Istituto Superiore di Sanitá, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torosantucci
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bromuro
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Ausiello
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Urbani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cassone
mesh_terms: D002176:Candida albicans / Q000276:immunology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; C025363:mannoproteins