Reduced proliferative responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells specifically to Candida albicans antigen in patients with atopic dermatitis--comparison with their normal reactivity to bacterial superantigens.

Although reduced cutaneous reactivities to Candida albicans have been reported in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), there is still controversy as to whether the in vivo lymphocyte proliferation response is normal or reduced. We have also reported that patients with AD manifest a decreased cutaneous response only to C. albicans antigen in scarification patch tests. The purpose of this study was to examine whether patients with AD show normal lymphocyte transformation responses to C. albicans antigen. Peripheral blood leucocytes (PBL) from 21 patients with AD and 14 healthy control (HC) subjects were cocultured with optimal concentrations of C. albicans antigen and of superantigens (staphylococcal enterotoxin A and B). PBL from the patients with AD showed a significantly lower response to C. albicans antigen, but there was no statistically significant difference in PBL responses to superantigens between the patients with AD and the HC subjects. This decreased proliferative response of PBL was particularly noticeable in those whose RAST scores for C. albicans antigen were high. These results suggest the development of a specific anergy to C. albicans antigen in patients with AD.