immunochemical characterization of Candida albicans cell wall antigens：specific.pdf

Microbiol. Immunol. Vol. 26 (5), 387-402, 1982 Immunochemical Characterization of Candida albicans Cell Wall Antigens: Specific Determinant of Candida albicans Serotype A Mannan Motofumi SUZUKI and Yoshimura FUKAZAWA* Department ofMicrobiology, Meiji College ofPharmacy, Tanashi, Tokyo 188, and *Department ofMicrobiology, Medical College of Yamanashi, Tamaho-mura, Nakakoma-gun, Yamanashi 409-38 (Accepted for publication, March 10, 1982) Abstract We investigated the chemical structure of the specific determinant in the mannan of Candida albicans M-1012 (serotype A) strain. Acetolysis of the man- nan, obtained by alkali extraction and purified as the copper complex, gave man- nose and six oligosaccharides (from di- to hexasaccharide) and a small amount of a heptasaccharide. We examined the inhibition by these oligosaccharides up to hexaose of the precipitin reaction between anti-factor 6 serum specific for serotype A and homologous mannan, and found that the mannohexaose was the most effec- tive inhibitor. These, and results obtained by proton magnetic resonance (PMR) spectroscopy, methylation analysis, and other structural studies, suggest that the main component of this hexaose consists of one terminal a(I-3) linkage in addition to four a(I-2) linkages, and that this a(I-3)-containing mannohexaose may be re- sponsible for the spec