Antisera were developed in rabbits after challenge with intracellular antigens of Candida albicans, C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis. Microorganism catalase has been correlated with virulence, resistance to drugs and immunogenicity. The intracellular catalase is consistently present in strains of Candida and in this paper, the enzyme activity was analysed by PAGE after exposition to antisera. The catalases of C. albicans, C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis were immunogenic and differed in their binding to specific antibodies raised in rabbits. Tests of cross-reactivity between different Candida species showed that when antiserum from C. albicans immunized rabbit was incubated with intracellular extracts of these three Candida species, the catalases activities were abolished. However, the antisera from C. parapsilosis or C. tropicalis immunized rabbits did not affect the catalase activity of C. albicans; the enzyme of C. albicans was inactivated only by the antiserum to the catalase of own C. albicans. The antiserum to the catalase of C. tropicalis was species-specific and did not cross-react with catalases of C. albicans and C. parapsilosis. The activities of Aspergillus niger and bovine catalases were not affected by the antiserum from any Candida immunized rabbits. This report is a preliminary study of specific antisera that react against intracellular catalase of Candida sp. and neutralize the enzymatic activity. Further study is necessary to develop species-specific antibody once differences in the susceptibility of the Candida species to commonly used antifungal drugs make identification to the species level important.
candidiasis; catalase; Candida; antigen; diagnosis
