IDENTIFICATION OF A 105 KILODALTON CRYPTOCOCCUS-NEOFORMANS MANNOPROTEIN INVOLVED IN HUMAN CELL-MEDIATED IMMUNE-RESPONSE

In the present study, using sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blot techniques, the patterns of proteins extracted from C. neoformans yeast cells were analysed. A major 105 k ilodalton (kDa) antigen that binds to Concanavalin A and cross-reacts with anti-mannan antibodies was identified. The 105 kDa mannoprotein, highly expressed in the acapsular mutant of C. neoformans with respect to the encapsulated strain, is involved in the lymphoproliferative re sponse of T lymphocytes to Crytococcus-sensitized monocytes.