Abstract
Cell-mediated immunity in 15 patients with chronic mucocutaneous or systemic candidiasis has been studied by measuring the proliferative response of patients' peripheral mononuclear cells to mitogen and specific antigen in vitro. Cells from all patients responded within normal limits to mitogen, but consistently failed to proliferate in response to antigen, including Candida antigen. Positive responses to Candida antigen were obtained, however, by increasing the density at which the cells were cultured and by addition of monocytes from normal donors. Patient's monocytes failed to reconstitute the response of monocyte-free lymphocytes from normal, Candida-sensitive donors to antigen. These results demonstrate that candidiasis patients have circulating Candida-sensitive lymphocytes and suggest that failure of these cells to proliferate in response to antigen is due to defective monocytes. Further experiments suggest that this defect may be acquired due to factors present in patients' sera. Work supported by NIH, Minnesota Heart Association, Minnesota Medical Foundation and the University of Minnesota Graduate School.
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Nelson, R., Brown, D. CELL-MEDIATED IMMUNITY IN CHRONIC CANDIDIASIS. Pediatr Res 8, 416 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197404000-00455
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197404000-00455