Increased antifungal antibodies in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and serum in pulmonary sarcoidosis.

The recent studies suggest a role of fungi in development of sarcoidosis. Moreover, the immune response in sarcoidosis and fungal infection shows a striking similarity. We formulated a hypothesis of the possible increase in antifungal antibodies in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum in pulmonary sarcoidosis. BALF and serum levels of IgG-, IgM- and IgA-specific antibodies against the cell wall ß-D-glucan and mannan of Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were tested in 47 patients (29 pulmonary sarcoidosis patients and 18 patients with other interstitial lung diseases (ILD - control group)) and 170 healthy controls. Our results proved: (1) an increase in IgG-, IgM- and IgA-specific antifungal antibodies in BALF in pulmonary sarcoidosis compared with the control group (C. albicans: IgG: P = 0.0329, IgM: P = 0.0076, IgA: P = 0.0156; S. cerevisiae: IgG: P = 0.0062, IgM: P = 0.0367, IgA: P = 0.0095) and (2) elevated levels of serum antifungal antibodies in pulmonary sarcoidosis compared with healthy controls (C. albicans: IgG: P = 0.0329, IgM: P = 0.0076, IgA: P = 0.0156; S. cerevisiae: IgG: P > 0.05, IgM: P < 0.05, IgA: P < 0.001). The study showed increased serum and BALF levels of antifungal antibodies in pulmonary sarcoidosis. The hypothesis that fungal infection is one of the possible aetiologic agents of sarcoidosis is interesting and deserves further attention.

Effect of branched α-oligomannoside structures on induction of anti-Candida humoral immune response.

Several studies have established the potential efficacy of humoral immunity, primarily mannan-specific antibodies, in host protection against major fungal pathogen Candida albicans. In this study, we analysed humoral immune response induced by immunization with BSA-based conjugates bearing synthetic α-1,6-branched oligomannosides (pentamannosides (M5) or hexamannosides (M6)) mimicking antigenic sequences of Candida cell wall mannan. We analysed the ability of antibodies prepared by immunization to recognize relevant antigenic determinants in mannan polysaccharide structure and in C. albicans yeast and hyphal morphoforms. M6-BSA conjugate induced markedly higher levels of mannan-specific IgG compared with M5-BSA conjugate. In contrast to M5-BSA conjugate, M6-BSA conjugate induced immunoglobulin isotype class switch from IgM to IgG, as revealed also from ELISPOT analysis. Immunization-induced antibodies showed higher reactivity with hyphal form of C. albicans cells. The reduced immunogenicity of M5-BSA conjugate seems to be related to branching point location at terminal non-reducing end in comparison with M6-BSA oligomannoside with branching point at non-terminal location. Candidacidal activity assay revealed different capacity of sera prepared by immunization with M5-BSA and M6-BSA conjugates to improve candidacidal activity of polymorphonuclear leucocytes. Limited capacity of α-1,6-branched oligomannoside--BSA conjugates to induce antibodies significantly enhancing candidacidal activity of polymorphonuclear leucocytes--was presumably related to absence of antibodies with strong reactivity to corresponding antigenic determinants in natural cell wall mannan and with reduced ability to activate complement. The study documented markedly structure-dependent immunogenicity and limited capacity of branched α-mannooligosides conjugates to induce production of potentially protective antibodies.

Synthesis and bioimmunological efficiency of poly(2-oxazolines) containing a free amino group.

Novel amphiphilic copolymers on the basis of 2-oxazolines containing a free amino group were prepared. The copolymers were synthesized by the living cationic polymerization of 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline (ETOX) and 2-(4-aminophenyl)-2-oxazoline (APOX). The main goal of this work was the synthesis of water soluble polymer material with the defined number of functional groups necessary for the attachment of proteins and polysaccharides. A high concentration of free amino groups allows immobilization of various biosubstances, e.g. drugs, proteins or polysaccharides. Thermal properties have been studied with respect to the composition of the copolymers. Cytotoxicity and the bioimmunological efficiency of the selected copolymer were studied.