Studies in Translational Microbiology and Emerging Diseases (MICROS) Research Group, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia.
Group of Microbiology, National Institute of Health, Bogota, Colombia.
Med Mycol. 2022 Sep 14;60(9). doi: 10.1093/mmy/myac067.
Cryptococcus neoformans (Cn) and Cryptococcus gattii (Cg) cause cryptococcosis, a life-threatening systemic mycosis of global distribution affecting mainly immunocompromised adults. Although a humoral response occurs during cryptococcosis, the role of antibody production against this mycosis is not fully understood. We aimed to determine total and specific antibodies against cryptococcal protein antigens in sera from people with and without a diagnosis of cryptococcosis from Colombia. Using ELISA, total and specific levels of immunoglobulin (Ig)G, IgA and IgM were determined in sera from children and adults with (n = 109) and without (n = 119) cryptococcosis. Specific antibodies were those binding Cn- and Cg-protein antigens. In general, the mean of the total IgG production was higher in cryptococcosis patients than in controls (13 942.32 vs. 6459.91 µg/ml), while levels of IgA (488.13 vs. 1564.53 µg/ml) and IgM (775.69 vs. 1014.72 µg/ml) were higher in controls than in cryptococcosis patients (P ≤ .05). In patients with cryptococcosis, total IgG, IgA and IgM levels were higher in HIV + compared with HIV- (P ≤ .05). Specific antibodies tended to be higher in cryptococcosis patients than in controls and in adults than in children, with a positive correlation between antibody reactivity and age. All immunoglobulins were more reactive against Cn-proteins than Cg-proteins. Overall, a positive weak correlation between total and specific antibodies was found, although not always statistically significant. In patients with cryptococcosis from Colombia, the levels of immunoglobulins, total and specific, differ with respect to people without cryptococcosis. Variations in antibody production among adults and children with cryptococcosis and between Cn- and Cg-protein antigens were as well established. Our findings encourage further studies to determine the role of humoral immunity for host defense against cryptococcosis.
新型隐球菌（Cn）和格特隐球菌（Cg）引起隐球菌病，这是一种具有全球分布的危及生命的系统性真菌感染，主要影响免疫功能低下的成年人。虽然在隐球菌病期间会发生体液反应，但抗体产生对抗这种真菌感染的作用尚未完全了解。我们旨在确定来自哥伦比亚有和没有隐球菌病诊断的人群的血清中针对隐球菌蛋白抗原的总抗体和特异性抗体。使用 ELISA，测定了来自有（n=109）和没有（n=119）隐球菌病的儿童和成人血清中的免疫球蛋白（Ig）G、IgA 和 IgM 的总水平和特异性水平。特异性抗体是与 Cn 和 Cg 蛋白抗原结合的抗体。一般来说，隐球菌病患者的总 IgG 产生平均值高于对照组（13942.32 对 6459.91µg/ml），而 IgA（488.13 对 1564.53µg/ml）和 IgM（775.69 对 1014.72µg/ml）水平在对照组中高于隐球菌病患者（P≤.05）。在隐球菌病患者中，HIV+患者的总 IgG、IgA 和 IgM 水平高于 HIV-患者（P≤.05）。特异性抗体在隐球菌病患者中比对照组和成人中比儿童中更高，抗体反应与年龄呈正相关。所有免疫球蛋白对 Cn-蛋白的反应性均高于 Cg-蛋白。总的来说，尽管并不总是具有统计学意义，但发现总抗体和特异性抗体之间存在正弱相关性。在来自哥伦比亚的隐球菌病患者中，与没有隐球菌病的患者相比，免疫球蛋白、总抗体和特异性抗体的水平有所不同。隐球菌病成人和儿童以及 Cn-和 Cg-蛋白抗原之间的抗体产生差异也得到了确立。我们的研究结果鼓励进一步研究以确定体液免疫对宿主防御隐球菌病的作用。
