[Immunochemical study on mannan, the antigenic polysaccharide of pathogenic yeasts in man of genus Candida]

This article accounts for the development of immunochemical studies on the antigenic polysaccharide, mannan, a major antigen of pathogenic yeast in man, genus Candida, in order to determine the chemical structures dominating the serological specificities of the parent cells as follows. 1. The serological classification system of 7 medically important Candida species by detecting 10 antigenic factors, 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 13b, and 34 the corresponding antisera, established by Tsuchiya and his coworkers is documented. 2. The structural studies of Candida mannans until early 1980s, which did not include any evidence for the presence of beta-1,2-linked Man unit, the common constituent of antigenic factors, 5, and 6, are also reviewed. 3. The process of structural identification of antigenic factor 5 residing in the mannans of C. albicans, C. tropicalis, and C. stellatoidea, in the phosphate-bound form of beta-1,2 linked mannooligosaccharides, is summarized. 4. The results of structural identification of antigenic factors 4 and 6 in the mannans of the acid-stable domains of C. albicans are summarized as follows: In order to isolate oligosaccharides containing beta-1,2 and alpha-1,6 linkages, a modified acetolysis method under mild conditions was established. By means of this procedure, oligosaccharides corresponding to antigenic factors 4 and 6 were successfully isolated, and their structures determined, subsequently. 5. Furthermore, effects of the alteration of cultivation conditions, carbon source, pH and temperature, on the chemical structure of mannans, especially of decrease and/or loss of densities of antigenic factors, 4, 5 and 6, are documented, because of the significance of these findings as basic concepts for in situ assay of Candida cells by antibody-staining technique in patients' foci.