POLYSACCHARIDE OF COCCIDIOIDES IMMITIS

Abstract

Solu-ble polysaccharide from mycelia or culture filtrates of Coccidioides immitis was found to consist mainly of mannose, but also included small quantities of galactose and another reducing sugar. Isolation of the polysaccharide by ethanol precipitation provided accompanying nitrogenous material. There was 3 to 4% nitrogen, present in amino acids, but in a nondialyzable (possibly protein or peptide) form. The average molecular weight of the complex was 31, 700. Attempts to separate the nitrogenous and polysaccharide materials by chemical methods or by moving boundary electrophoresis were unsuccessful; ultracentrifugation showed a single peak. Despite these findings, there appeared to be several antigenic species present, as indicated by multiple lines of precipitation in double diffusion and quantitative precipi-tin tests. In the latter, polysaccharide-containing fractions gave precipitates without measurable carbohydrate, suggesting separability of nitrogenous and polysaccharide components.