Solubilized cell wall beta-glucan, CSBG, is an epitope of Candida immune mice

Antibody to beta-glucan is generally difficult to produce in mice. We have recently developed a protocol to obtain a soluble Candida spp. beta-(1-->3) -D-glucan (CSBG) by sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) oxidation and subsequent di methyl sulfoxide (Me2SO) extraction. CSBG is composed mainly of beta-(1-->3 ) and beta-(1-->6)-glucosidic linkages with a small amount of branch. In th is paper, mice were immunized with Candida albicans and the specificity of the resulting sera to CSBC was examined by ELISA, Using CSBG coated plate, sera of the Candida immune mice shelved higher reactivity than non-immune, normal mice and the reactivity was neutralized by adding soluble CSBG as a competitor. However, the reactivity could not be neutralized by a beta-(1-- >6) branched beta-(1-->3)-glucan, grifolan, Similar specificity of the sera was obtained by commercially available beta-glucan particle, zymosan or zy mocel, immune mice. These facts strongly suggested that CSBG included epito pes of the specific antibody in Candida immune mice.