Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Coccidioides”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

An archived lot of coccidioidin induces specific coccidioidal delayed-type hypersensitivity and correlates with in vitro assays of coccidioidal cellular immune response.

No test for assessing cellular immune response in coccidioidomycosis is currently available in the United States. In the present study, we tested 49 healthy subjects living in the coccidioidal endemic region with a 1:55.8 dilution of a single lot of coccidioidin archived since the 1970s. In this group, 23 evaluable subjects demonstrated >/=5 mm of induration at 24, 48 or 72 h, with a mean+/-SEM maximum induration of 18.4+/-4.0 mm. The induration results among 14 subjects reactive at 24 h were compared to those from 179 individuals in an historical cohort studied in the 1980s using a reference lot of coccidioidin. Results were within 5% and not significantly different (P=0.924). The maximum induration response of all evaluable subjects correlated significantly with the results of in vitro tests of coccidioidal cellular immunity using supernatant interferon-gamma concentration and CD69 expression on T cells (Spearman rank correlation coefficients 0.69 and 0.68, respectively; P<0.01 for both). These data suggest that archived coccidioidin retains its potency and specificity and that in vitro test of coccidioidal immunity may have utility in the measurement of coccidioidal cellular immunity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Cerebrospinal fluid antibodies detected by ELISA against a 33-kDa antigen from spherules of Coccidioides immitis in patients with coccidioidal meningitis. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Mycoses Study Group.

Antibodies against a 33-kDa antigen from Coccidioides immitis were detected by ELISA in patients' cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Anti-33-kDa antibodies were detected at dilutions > 1:80 in only 1 (1.4%) of 73 patients without coccidioidal meningitis but in 74 (71.8%) of 103 with meningitis. Anti-33-kDa antibodies were detected in 53 (91.4%) of 58 patients whose anti-coccidioidal complement-fixing (CF) antibodies were detectable and in 21 (46.7%) of 45 patients whose CSF was negative by CF test (positive predictive value, 99%; negative predictive value, 71%; sensitivity, 72%; specificity, 99%). Anti-33-kDa antibodies, among which IgG1 was the dominant subclass, increased when infections worsened and decreased when patients' conditions improved. Antibody concentration appeared to be independent of most baseline findings, although only 1 of 5 patients coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus had initially detectable antibodies. Measurement of anti-33-kDa antibodies is a sensitive indicator of coccidioidal meningitis and of its clinical course.

Antibodies, Fungal↗
PubMed2006

Use of the Coccidioides posadasii Deltachs5 strain for quality control in the ACCUPROBE culture identification test for Coccidioides immitis.

Coccidioides posadasii Deltachs5 is a strain that is excluded from the select agent list. Sixteen assays using test reagents from three different ACCUPROBE Coccidioides immitis culture identification test lots had an average of 132,998 relative light units (RLU), which is well beyond the 50,000-RLU positive cutoff value for the test. Coccidioides posadasii Deltachs5 is a satisfactory quality control isolate in the ACCUPROBE culture identification test for Coccidioides immitis.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Relationship of progesterone- and estradiol-binding proteins in Coccidioides immitis to coccidioidal dissemination in pregnancy.

Pregnancy is a major risk factor for coccidioidal dissemination. Because rates of Coccidioides immitis growth and endospore release are stimulated in vitro by levels of unbound progesterone and 17 beta-estradiol that are achievable, in vivo, in the sera of pregnant women (i.e., 10(-9) to 10(-8) M), a specific-hormone-binding system in C. immitis was sought. Fungal cytosols were incubated with tritiated steroids plus or minus radioinert steroids to identify specific binding systems. All five strains of C. immitis tested exhibited specific saturable binding for progestin, estrogen, androgen, and (to a lesser extent) corticosterone and glucocorticoid hormone classes. Only low or inconsistent estrogen or androgen binding was found in Blastomyces dermatitidis and Torulopsis glabrata. Cryptococcus neoformans, Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, and non-albicans Candida species showed no binding. Scatchard analysis of progestin and estrogen binding in C. immitis revealed a high-capacity, low-affinity binding system that was unaffected by RNase and DNase, but 40 to 60% degraded by trypsin or heating. Ammonium sulfate precipitation resolved a high-affinity, low-capacity binding system (Kd = 1.24 X 10(-9) to 3.60 X 10(-8) M; number of binding sites = 0.014 to 0.20 pmol/mg of protein). The Kd of this system is sufficient to compete for unbound hormone in the sera of pregnant women. The high-capacity, low-affinity system may serve as a repository for hormone before its attachment to the specific binder. These studies suggest that the effects of nanomolar concentrations of sex hormones on C. immitis may be mediated by a specific cytosol protein-binding system and that stimulatory events observed in vitro may have relevance for the mechanism of coccidioidal dissemination in pregnancy.

Alpha-Globulins↗
PubMed1965

Control of Tissue Reactions in Monkeys Vaccinated with Viable Coccidioides immitis by Prevaccination with Killed Coccidioides immitis.

Converse, J. L. (U.S. Army Biological Laboratories, Fort Detrick, Frederick, Md.), G. A. Deauville, E. M. Snyder, J. G. Ray, and M. E. Seaquist. Control of tissue reactions in monkeys vaccinated with viable Coccidioides immitis by prevaccination with killed Coccidioides immities. J. Bacteriol. 90:783-788. 1965.-Control of undesirable tissue reactions resulting from the subcutaneous injection of 150 viable arthrospores of Coccidioides immitis (strain D-76) was obtained by four injections of formalin-killed arthrospores 14, 12, 8, and 4 weeks (total dose, 36 mg) before injection of the viable arthrospores. Only 6 and 12% of these vaccinated animals exhibited ulceration and lymphadenopathy, respectively, as compared with 100 and 83% of the animals receiving only the viable vaccine. Agar-gel immunodiffusion precipitin titers of approximately 1:64 were evident 3 months after vaccination in animals receiving both vaccines, as compared with 1:128 in those injected with the viable vaccine alone. The above data indicated that somatic reactions to injection of a viable vaccine could be eliminated by preinjection of a killed vaccine. However, 6 months after vaccination, respiratory challenge (7,500 strain Cash arthrospores) indicated that this treatment also impaired the protective effect of the viable vaccine. All animals receiving both vaccines developed mild pulmonary coccidioidomycosis, whereas only 50% of the animals receiving only the viable vaccine were infected. In addition, the group receiving both vaccines demonstrated a more rapid and higher postchallenge precipitin titer. All vaccinated animals (those receiving the killed, the viable, or a combination of the two vaccines) survived for 4 months after challenge, as compared with 88% mortality (50% within 14 days) in the nonvaccinated controls.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1984

Reactivity of alkali-soluble, water-soluble cell wall antigen of Coccidioides immitis with anti-Coccidioides immunoglobulin M precipitin antibody.

The alkali-soluble, water-soluble cell wall antigen of Coccidioides immitis (C-ASWS) mycelia and spherules was shown to react with anti-Coccidioides immunoglobulin M (IgM) precipitin antibody, both in the classical tube precipitin test and in the immunodiffusion assay for tube precipitin antibody (IDTP). The reactions obtained between C-ASWS and reference IgM precipitin antibody were identical to the reaction obtained when reference coccidioidin (CDN) was used. Definitive proof that C-ASWS extracts contain antigenic determinants that are reactive with IgM tube precipitin antibody was obtained by solid-phase immunoadsorption. Elution of reference IDTP antiserum over a column containing mycelium C-ASWS coupled to Sepharose 4B completely adsorbed precipitin antibody; i.e., reactivity in the IDTP was demonstrable in the column eluate but not in the column effluent fraction. The antigenic composition of C-ASWS extracts was evaluated and compared with that of CDN by two-dimensional immunoelectrophoresis against burro anti-CDN. The results established that both mycelium and spherule C-ASWS contain antigenic determinants in common with only one antigen present in CDN. The latter, designated antigen 2, is a large polymer which is predominant among the antigenic components in CDN. On a dry weight comparison, antigen 2 determinants were most concentrated in spherule C-ASWS, followed by mycelium C-ASWS and reference IDTP antigen. The finding that C-ASWS extracts are reactive with IgM tube precipitin antibody and are antigenically identical to antigen 2 in CDN suggests that antigen 2 is the biologically active component of CDN in tube precipitin assays.

Cell Wall↗
PubMed1996

Detection of coccidioidal antibodies by 33-kDa spherule antigen, Coccidioides EIA, and standard serologic tests in sera from patients evaluated for coccidioidomycosis.

During a 9-month study of patients being evaluated for coccidioidomycosis, 1 or more serum samples were obtained from 138 patients with an illness suggestive of recent infection. In this group, standard immunodiffusion tests of unconcentrated sera were positive for 25; 49 additional patients had at least 1 reactive test result by newer enzyme-linked serologic tests. At least 11 of these 49 patients had coccidioidomycosis as determined by culture or subsequent standard serologic tests. Patients with coccidioidomycosis identified only by newer tests had fewer or milder clinical abnormalities than did patients in whom the disease was detected by standard tests. For 31 other patients with illness of a chronic or undetermined duration, newer tests detected only 10 more than the 18 identified by standard tests, suggesting that later in the course of illness, standard testing gains in sensitivity for coccidioidal infection.

Antibodies, Fungal↗
PubMed1997

Stability of hybridization activity of Coccidioides immitis in live and heat-killed frozen cultures tested by AccuProbe Coccidioides immitis culture identification test.

Frozen hyphal suspensions of Coccidioides immitis were evaluated for suitability as positive control cultures in the AccuProbe C. immitis culture identification test. The genetic probe hybridization activity of heat-killed and viable frozen cultures, stored at -20 and -70 degrees C and tested over a 10-month period, was compared to that of a freshly grown culture, and the results were evaluated based upon the manufacturer's established positive and negative photometric light unit (PLU) cutoff values. All C. immitis suspensions produced positive hybridization values well above the positive and negative cutoff values, and no significant decrease in hybridization activity was observed with the frozen cultures after 10 months of storage. The frozen, heat-killed suspensions produced PLU values with less variability (coefficient of variation, 8% over 10 months than the fresh or frozen viable cultures and were deemed the most stable and sale form of positive control material to use.

Coccidioides↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Coccidioidal antigen reactive CD4+ T-lymphocytes in the cerebrospinal fluid in coccidioides immitis meningitis.

CSF lymphocytes from patients with Coccidioides immitis meningitis exhibited a significant antigen-specific response to in vitro stimulation with C. immitis antigens. In some patients, lesser responses to control antigens (Candida and PPD) were also detected. Antigen-specific responses by CSF lymphocytes were seen early in the course of this disease as well as several years after patients had entered remission. When compared to CSF cells, the response of autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells was similar but of a much smaller magnitude and at times undetectable. Fluorescence activated cell sorting revealed an increased percentage of CD3+ (T-cells), CD4+ (helper/inducer) and CD3+/HLA-DR+ (activated T-cell) cells in the CSF of C. immitis meningitis patients compared to their blood. Most of the antigen-specific proliferative response resided in the CD4+ lymphocyte subset. CSF T-cell proliferation assays may have a role in the diagnosis of C. immitis meningitis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Detection of Coccidioides species in clinical specimens by real-time PCR.

Coccidioides spp. are dimorphic fungal pathogens endemic to the semiarid regions of North, Central, and South America. Currently, direct smear and culture are the most common means of identifying Coccidioides spp. While these methods offer relatively sensitive and specific means of detecting Coccidioides spp., growth in culture may take up to 3 weeks, potentially delaying the diagnosis and initiation of appropriate antifungal therapy. In addition, growth of the organism represents a significant safety risk to laboratory personnel. The need for a rapid and safe means of diagnosing coccidioidomycosis prompted us to develop a real-time PCR assay to detect Coccidioides spp. directly from clinical specimens. Primers and fluorescent resonance energy transfer (FRET) probes were designed to target the internal transcribed spacer 2 region of Coccidioides. The assay's limit of detection is below 50 targets per reaction. An analysis of 40 Coccidioides sp. clinical isolates grown in culture demonstrated 100% sensitivity of the assay. A cross-reactivity panel containing fungi, bacteria, mycobacteria, and viruses was tested and demonstrated 100% specificity for Coccidioides spp. An analysis of 266 respiratory specimens by LightCycler PCR demonstrated 100% sensitivity and 98.4% specificity for Coccidioides spp. compared with culture. Analysis of 66 fresh tissue specimens yielded 92.9% sensitivity and 98.1% specificity versus those of the culture method. The sensitivity of the assay testing 148 paraffin-embedded tissue samples is 73.4%. A rapid method for the detection of Coccidioides spp. directly from clinical material will greatly assist in the timely diagnosis and treatment of patients, while at the same time decreasing the risk of accidental exposure to laboratory personnel.

Coccidioides↗
PubMed2005

Coccidioidal pericarditis: a case presentation and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Pericardial involvement with Coccidioides immitis is an infrequent occurrence with a relatively unfavorable prognosis. METHODS: A case of coccidioidal pericarditis is presented along with a review of the medical literature on coccidioidal pericarditis to give the clinician a better understanding of the various presentations, complications and outcomes of this disease. Medline (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda) was electronically searched covering the years 1966-2003 using search words coccidioidomycosis and pericarditis. RESULTS: Sixteen patients were identified from the literature review and one new patient was added. All the patients were males with a mean age of 37.5 years. Chest pain, dyspnea and cough were the most common presenting symptoms. Five patients had evidence of pericardial tamponade, pulsus paradoxus was noted in three patients and three patients presented with pericardial constriction. One patient had Kussmaul's sign, one patient had pericardial frictional rub and another had pericardial knock. Cardiomegaly on chest x-ray was present in ten patients; EKG was noted to have low voltage in five and ST segment elevation in four patients. Delayed hypersensitivity to coccidioidal antigen was reported in nine patients and positive in eight patients. Complement fixation titers were positive in all 11 patients in whom it was assayed. Fifty-three percent of the patients with coccidioidal pericarditis died. CONCLUSION: Coccidioidal pericarditis is a rare disease entity that has a relatively unfavorable prognosis, yet many patients present with diagnostic clues to this disorder. An enhanced understanding of the clinical features of coccidioidal pericarditis may lead to improved outcomes.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Suppression of T-lymphocyte response by Coccidioides immitis antigen.

Intravenous injection of BALB/c mice with coccidioidin or an alkali-soluble cell wall extract of Coccidioides immitis mycelia resulted in the induction of a splenic cell population(s) that suppressed delayed-type hypersensitivity response to coccidioidal antigen. To determine whether the levels of C. immitis antigen produced during the course of active coccidioidal disease might also cause suppression of T-lymphocyte response, BALB/c mice were infected by intranasal instillation of arthroconidia, and 2 weeks later, their sera were evaluated for suppression of T-lymphocyte response in syngeneic recipients. Intravenous transfer of sera, which were shown to contain high levels of coccidioidal antigen by an enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay, suppressed the delayed-type hypersensitivity response of recipients to immunization with coccidioidin. Solid-phase immunoadsorption of the sera with goat antibodies to C. immitis antigens removed the suppressive component(s). To determine whether the suppressive effect of circulating coccidioidal antigen(s) was associated with the activation of a splenic suppressor cell(s), as was observed in mice injected intravenously with coccidioidal antigen, spleen cell lysates were prepared from infected donors, and after filtration to remove viable fungi, the lysates were transferred to syngeneic mice. Recipients of lysates from infected but not noninfected donors were suppressed in their response to immunization with coccidioidin. Collectively, these results provide evidence that depressed T-cell responses observed in coccidioidomycosis are associated with, and may be attributable to, the activation of a suppressor cell or factor by circulating C. immitis antigens.

Animals↗
PubMed1973

Experimental induction of anergy to coccidioidin by antigens of Coccidioides immitis.

Failure to react to coccidioidin (anergy) often occurs in patients with disseminated coccidioidomycosis. One possible reason may be desensitization by excessive amounts of antigen. This was studied experimentally by injection of soluble and hyphal antigens of Coccidioides immitis into coccidioidin- and tuberculin-sensitive guinea pigs. Guinea pigs sensitized by injection of killed hyphal cells of C. immitis in complete Freund adjuvant were subsequently injected daily either with soluble coccidioidal antigen administered intraperitoneally or with hyphal antigen administered either subcutaneously or intraperitoneally. Gradual loss of cutaneous reactivity to coccidioidin occurred, but the reactivity to tuberculin remained unimpaired. The rapidity of desensitization was roughly proportional to the dose of antigen with desensitization occurring as early as 6 days after beginning injections. This anergic state was temporary, and reactivity returned several days after discontinuing injection of antigen. Injection of coccidioidal antigen led to production of coccidioidal complement-fixing antibody, but there was no consistent relationship between the antibody titer and state of cutaneous reactivity to coccidioidin. Peritoneal exudate or pulmonary alveolar cells from desensitized animals migrated freely in the presence of coccidioidin but were inhibited in the presence of tuberculin. Heat treatment did not impair the capacity of the soluble or hyphal antigen to induce anergy, thus suggesting that the antigen active in complement fixation was perhaps not involved in desensitization. Polysaccharide obtained by ethanol precipitation of dialyzed coccidioidin failed to induce anergy. Dialysis of the soluble coccidioidal antigen caused the loss of the desensitizing activity. Thus, specific desensitization could be induced by administration of large doses of coccidioidal antigen but dialyzable components appear important in this desensitization.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Characterization of a serodiagnostic complement fixation antigen of Coccidioides posadasii expressed in the nonpathogenic Fungus Uncinocarpus reesii.

Coccidioides spp. (immitis and posadasii) are the causative agents of human coccidioidomycosis. In this study, we developed a novel system to overexpress coccidioidal proteins in a nonpathogenic fungus, Uncinocarpus reesii, which is closely related to Coccidioides. A promoter derived from the heat shock protein gene (HSP60) of Coccidioides posadasii was used to control the transcription of the inserted gene in the constructed coccidioidal protein expression vector (pCE). The chitinase gene (CTS1) of C. posadasii, which encodes the complement fixation antigen, was expressed using this system. The recombinant Cts1 protein (rCts1(Ur)) was induced in pCE-CTS1-transformed U. reesii by elevating the cultivation temperature. The isolated rCts1(Ur) showed chitinolytic activity that was identical to that of the native protein and had serodiagnostic efficacy comparable to those of the commercially available antigens in immunodiffusion-complement fixation tests. Using the purified rCts1(Ur), 74 out of the 77 coccidioidomycosis patients examined (96.1%) were positively identified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The rCts1(Ur) protein showed higher chitinolytic activity and slightly greater seroreactivity than the bacterially expressed recombinant Cts1. These data suggest that this novel expression system is a useful tool to produce coccidioidal antigens for use as diagnostic antigens.

Antigens, Fungal↗