Humoral and cell mediated immunity in patients with trichophyton rubrum infection of glabrous skin

ABSTRACT

The host-parasite relationship constitutes a challenge to study the possible cause chronicity in Trichophyton rubrum [T. Rubrum] infection. In this study, this field was investigated to find out any relationship between the chronicity of the disease and the immunological factors in the host and parasite. 32 patients with T. rubrum infection and 11 normal control subjects were chosen for this study. All of them were subjected to intradermal trichophytin skin test, leucocyte adherence test, estimation of the total sera IgE levels and the presence of IgM antibodies in their sera using indirect immunofluorescent technique. The study revealed evidence of impaired cellular immunity to trichophytin antigen, high mean serum IgE level and the presence of circulating IgM antibodies with affinity for epithelial tissue in large% of patients with chronic T. rubrum infection denoting direct correlation between the immunogenicity of the parasite and the immune status of the host on one h and and the course of the disease on the other h and