IMMUNOREACTIVITY OF A 38-KILODALTON PENICILLIUM-MARNEFFEI ANTIGEN WITH HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS-POSITIVE SERA

Penicillium marneffei produced and secreted a 38-kDa antigen that appe ared to be specific for this dimorphic fungus, This component could no t be detected in antigenic extracts of Histoplasma capsulatum, Cryptoc occus neoformans, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillu s flavus, Aspergillus terreus, Candida albicans, and two other species of Penicillium by immunoblot analysis against the sera from patients with culture-confirmed penicilliosis marneffei. Antibody reactive with this antigen was found in a large proportion of human immunodeficienc y virus (NN)-positive patients, indicating a presumptive diagnosis of P. marneffei infection, A small number of asymptomatic HIV-seropositiv e patients and HIV-seropositive patients with other fungal infections were also found to be positive bg this analysis, suggesting that subcl inical or mixed fungal infections involving P. marneffei are not uncom mon.