Specific in vitro antimannan-rich antigen of Candida albicans antibody production by sensitized human blood lymphocytes.

We have developed a new antigenic system for the induction of specific in vitro antibody response in man. The antigen used was purified from the cell wall of Candida albicans strain A and contained greater than 96% polysaccharide mannan. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from Candida-sensitized donors produced specific antimannan antibodies during a 7-d culture in the presence of mannan absorbed with methylated bovine serum albumin. Two methods were used to detect antimannan antibody responses. Antimannan antibody-producing cells were identified by radioautography with tritiated mannan. Antibody concentration in culture supernatants was measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In both methods, specific IgM and IgG (but not IgA) antibodies were detected. The antibody production to mannan was specific, since an antigenically unrelated polysaccharide (pneumococcal antigen S III) did not bind to methylated bovine serum albumin-mannan-induced blast cells and did not induce antimannan antibody-containing cells. Furthermore, a pulse with an excess of unlabeled mannan abolished [3H]mannan binding, whereas an excess of unlabeled S III did not. Similarly, no antimannan antibody was obtained in influenza virus-stimulated cultures and mannan-stimulated cultures were not inducing antiinfluenza antibodies. The antimannan antibody production was shown to be a T cell-dependent phenomenon. The T helper effect appeared to be radiosensitive. It was under a genetic restriction as it occurred only in autologous or semi-identical but not in allogeneic situations. This system is relatively simple, reproducible, and well suited for the study of specific secondary in vitro antibody responses to polysaccharide antigens in humans.