Abstract
Methodologies to identify epitopes or ligands of the fungal cell wall polysaccharides influencing the immune response of human pathogens have to date been imperfect. Using the galactomannan (GM) of Aspergillus fumigatus as a model, we have shown that synthetic oligosaccharides of distinct structures representing key fragments of cell wall polysaccharides are the most precise tools to study the serological and immunomodulatory properties of a fungal polysaccharide.
Highlights
Fungi are the only eukaryotes protected by a polysaccharide shell with an ambivalent function among pathogens, having a protective role against environmental stress and a negative role in the induction of an antifungal immune response [1]
The results indicated that in contrast to antibodies, the production of cytokines and chemokines was facilitated by longer chains of -(1¡5)-linked Galf units
This study demonstrated that chemically synthesized oligosaccharides designed to represent fragments of the fungal cell wall are appropriate tools to investigate precisely the immune response against this insoluble polysaccharide shell
Summary
Fungi are the only eukaryotes protected by a polysaccharide shell with an ambivalent function among pathogens, having a protective role against environmental stress and a negative role in the induction of an antifungal immune response [1]. No antibodies recognizing ligands 1, 4, and 5 containing only one galactofuranose (Galf) unit were detected in sera from controls and patients (Fig. 2). The ligands with two Galf units linked through a (1¡5) linkage (ligands 2, 8, and 9), but not through a (1¡6) linkage (ligand 3), gave antibody titers which were significantly higher in patients with ABPA or CPA than in the controls (P Ͻ 0.0001) (Fig. 2).
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