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SDS-PAGE separation of dermatophyte antigens, and western immunoblotting in feline dermatophytosis

  • Human And Animal Mycology
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Abstract

Water-soluble antigens liberated from the disrupted mycelium of nine dermatophytes (seven isolates ofMicrosporum canis, one each ofMicrosporum gypseum andTrichophyton mentagrophytes) were compared by analytical slab SDS-PAGE. No substantial differences were observed between the protein bands of theM. Canis isolates, but certain distinctive bands were apparent in the other two species examined. Western immunoblotting usingM. canis-derived antigens separated by SDS-PAGE was used to investigate the humoral immune response in 79 cats with naturally-occurring dermatophytosis (72 withM. canis, six withM. gypseum and one withT. mentagrophytes) and this information was compared to results of immunoblots from 46 control (non-dermatophyte exposed) cats. Seven dominant bands (bands which occurred frequently and stained heavily) were identified in immunoblots from the dermatophyte-infected cats with apparent molecular weights varying between 39 and 120 kD. None of these bands were totally specific markers for dermatophytosis as a variable proportion of the control cats showed reactivity to all these proteins. However, most (73%) of the dermatophyte-infected cats showed reactivity to six or seven of the identified bands whereas most (80%) of the control cats showed reactivity to between zero and three of these bands (p<0.005). Western immunoblotting could be used to select individual immunodominant antigens for further evaluation of protective (cell-mediated) immunity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Feline Centre, Divisions of Companion Animals, and Cellular & Molecular Biology, Department of Veterinary Clinical Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    A. H. Sparkes B Vet Med, PhD, C. R. Stokes & T. J. Gruffydd-Jones

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  1. A. H. Sparkes B Vet Med, PhD
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  2. C. R. Stokes
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  3. T. J. Gruffydd-Jones
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Sparkes, A.H., Stokes, C.R. & Gruffydd-Jones, T.J. SDS-PAGE separation of dermatophyte antigens, and western immunoblotting in feline dermatophytosis. Mycopathologia 128, 91–98 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01103015

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01103015

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