[Specific fungal antisera production in rabbits]

A method for fungic antisera production against Aspergillus fumigatus, Histoplasma capsulatum, Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and Coccidioides immitis in rabbits was evaluated. Intradermic via and antigen in the dilution used for routine tests (UD) were employed to produce positive control serum for immunodiffusion test in agar gel. A. fumigatus, H. capsulatum and C. immitis antigens were prepared as described in CDC's Procedure Manual, P. brasiliensis antigen was prepared as previously described by Pires de Camargo. All rabbits produced antibodies against the different specific antigens in the primary response peak and after each booster. The titer obtained in secondary response was similar or smaller than the primary response in all cases. However, bands of similar quality and intensity were obtained by immunoprecipitation in agar gel tests. Although the antibody titers proved to be similar, higher or lower concentration of antigen used in the primary immunization produced fewer and smeared bands, respectively. This effect was evaluated in A. fumigatus only. Specific antisera production with this method proved to be easy and yielded high quality antisera. The major advantages of this method are: a) reduced number of inoculations, b) fast and simple standardisation of the antigen needed, c) equally useful for all the fungal species used so far. Therefore we strongly recommend this method.