Biochemical and serological characteristics of soluble yeast phase antigens of Histoplasma capsulatum.

Soluble antigens of whole yeast-phase cells were extracted with a 0.1 M phosphate buffer containing 0.1 M sodium chloride and 0.02% iodacetate. After being separated by differential filtration into fractions less than or greater than 50,000 daltons these antigens were purified by molecular sieve and chromatographic separations on ionic exchange resins. Two high molecular weight fractions obtained from diethylaminoethyl-cellulose (DEAE) at pH 8.0 and 7.0 with tris (hydroxymethyl) aminomethane (Tris) buffer were M antigens; those obtained at pH 4.0 and 4.0 with salt were H antigens. The four fractions had protein to carbohydrate ratios of 7.3, 14.0, 8.4, and 6.5 respectively, and all had essentially the same amino acid composition with no methionine and tyrosine and little histodine, arginine, phenylalanine and lysine. They had high concentrations of glucose, less mannose and traces of galactose. The low molecular weight fractions had the new complex "Y antigen", M antigen with protein to carbohydrate ratios of 1.4, 1.4 and 0.3 respectively. The amino acid and sugar composition of Y antigen strongly resembled the composition of the low molecular weight H and M antigens. Unlike the high molecular weight antigens, these low molecular weight antigens had methionine in relatively high concentrations; they had the same sugars as their respective high molecular weight counterparts. The yeast phase antigens differed from their respective mycelial counterparts in the following ways: glucose was the major sugar in the yeast phase with less amounts of mannose and traces of galactose, whereas in the mycelial antigens, mannose was the major sugar, with lesser amounts of galactose, and hexosamine. The H and M antigens of the yeast phase had high concentrations of glycine and alanine, whereas in the mycelial phase, these antigens had high concentrations of threonine and proline; the H and M antigens of the yeast phase had 5 to 16 times the protein to carbohydrate ratio observed for the same antigens of histoplasmin.