Cellular immunity in paracoccidioidomycosis.

Paracoccidioidomycosis was studied in 62 patients from Brazil in the 10 year period between 1978 and 1988. In 46 patients included in a first group, the disease was active and in 16 patients included in a second group, the disease was cured. The study was conducted according to both the clinical form of the disease and the response to paracoccidioidin in both groups. In the first group, 10 patients presented the acute form, 12 presented the chronic unifocal form and 24 had the chronic multifocal form of the disease. As to the response to paracoccidioidin, in the first group 16 patients were negative and 30 were positive; in the second group, 11 were positive and 5 were negative. An immunological study was performed in all patients using in vivo methods such as skin tests and sensitization to DNCB and in vitro techniques such as total lymphocyte counts, T and B cell counts, leukocyte migration inhibition test, chemotaxis of total leukocytes and mononuclear leukocyte phagocytosis.