Niveles de anticuerpos totales y específicos contra proteínas de Cryptococcus neoformans y Cryptococcus gattii en sueros de adultos y niños colombianos con y sin diagnóstico de Criptococosis
Thesis
Introduction: Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii cause cryptococcosis, a life-threatening mycosis that mainly affects immunocompromised adults worldwide. Objective: To contrast total and specific antibodies against protein antigens of C. neoformans and C. gattii in sera from patients with cryptococcosis and healthy individuals from Colombia. Methodology: Case-control study that included sera from children and adults with (n=109) and without (n=119) cryptococcosis from Colombia. Using ELISA, the total levels of immunoglobulin (Ig)G, IgA and IgM, as well as specific antibodies against cryptococcal proteins were determined in serum samples. Results: Generally, the production of total IgG was higher in people with cryptococcosis than in healthy people, while total IgA and IgM were higher in healthy people than with cryptococcosis. Specific IgG, IgA and IgM levels tended to be higher in people with cryptococcosis than in healthy people, and in adults than in children, with a positive correlation between antibody reactivity and age. All immunoglobulins were more reactive against C. neoformans than against C. gattii proteins. A positive correlation was found between total and specific immunoglobulin levels. Discussion: In patients with cryptococcosis from Colombia, the levels of total and specific immunoglobulins differ with respect to healthy people. Variations were also found in the production of specific immunoglobulins between adults and children with cryptococcosis and between the reactivity of these antibodies with protein antigens from C. neoformans and C. gattii, which highlights the potential role of antibody production against this mycosis.
