Detection of an antibody response in immunocompetent patients with systemic candidiasis or Candida albicans colonisation.

Tests to detect circulating antibodies to Candida albicans antigens were performed in sera from 27 immunocompetent patients, 15 of whom had deep-seated candidiasis and 12 of whom were colonised by Candida albicans. For the diagnosis of deep-seated candidiasis in patients with either deep-seated candidiasis or Candida albicans colonisation, counterimmunoelectrophoresis had a sensitivity of 87% and a specificity of 75%. Using immunoblotting it could be shown that antibodies to 35K, 47K, 68K and 88K antigens of Candida albicans occurred more frequently in patients with deep-seated candidiasis than in colonised patients. The presence of dense bands in immunoblots representing antibodies against the 47K and/or 68K antigen served to discriminate significantly between deep-seated and superficial candidiasis (p less than 0.05).