Immunosorbent for the isolation of specific antibodies against mannan: localization of antigens in yeast cell walls.

A procedure is given for the insolubilization of yeast mannan by entrapment in a polyacrylamide gel. Specific anti-mannan antibodies were separated by immunosorption from all other antibodies of a rabbit antiserum against whole, Formalininactivated Candida utilis cells. Colloidal gold coated with the anti-mannan and anti-non-mannan antibody fractions was used for the ultrastructural visualization of cell wall antigens. A control was performed using normal rabbit serum. Inhibition of anti-mannan antibodies was obtained with mannan oligosaccharides, and none of the antibody fractions showed marking of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell walls.