IDENTIFICATION OF THE ANTIGENIC DETERMINANTS OF FACTOR-8, FACTOR-9, AND FACTOR-34 OF GENUS CANDIDA

We investigated the antigenic determinants of factors 8, 9, and 34 of the genus Candida among pathogenic yeasts by enzyme-linked immunosorbe nt assay (ELISA) using mannans of Saccharomyces cerevisiae wild type a nd mutant types, mnn 1-mnn 4 and mnn 2. Results of ELISA including ant isera against the antigenic factors of genus Candida (Candida Check, I atron; FAbs) indicated that these three types of mannan distinctly rea ct with FAbs 34, 8 and 9, respectively. To identify the recognition si tes of these FAbs, me compared the ability of various oligosaccharides to inhibit the binding of the mannans to FAbs. The results indicated that FAb 34 preferentially recognizes linear side chains containing a non-reducing terminal alpha-1,3-linked mannose residue, Man alpha 1 -- > 3Man alpha 1 --> (2Man alpha 1 -->)(n)2Man (n greater than or equal to 0), and that one of the recognition sites of FAb 9 is linear alpha- 1,6-linked oligomannosyl series, Man alpha 1 --> (6Man alpha 1 -->)(n) 6Man (n greater than or equal to 2). On the other hand, the recognitio n site of FAb 8 apparently consisted of two alpha-1,2-linked oligomann osyl side chains and an alpha-1,6-linked mannose residue that originat ed from the mannan backbone, Man alpha 1 --> 2Man alpha 1 --> 2(Man al pha 1 --> 2Man alpha 1 --> 6)Man.