Two-dimensional electrophoresis and characterization of antigens from Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is a fungal pathogen of humans. To identify a ntigens from P. brasiliensis we fractionated a crude preparation of protein s from the fungus and detected the IgG reactive proteins by immunoblot assa ys of yeast cellular extracts with sera of patients with paracoccidioidomyc osis (PCM). We identified and characterized six new antigens by amino acid sequencing and homology search analyses with other proteins deposited in a database. The newly characterized antigens were highly homologous to catala se, fructose-1,6-biphosphate aldolase (aldolase), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphat e dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase and triosephosphate isomerase from se veral sources. The characterized antigens presented preferential synthesis in yeast cells, the host fungus phase. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et m edicales Elsevier SAS.