The use of biomarkers for the detection of fungal infections is of interest to complement histopathological and culture methods. Since the production of antibodies in immunocompromised patients is scarce, detection of a specific antigen could be effective for early diagnosis. D-Galactofuranose (Galf) is the antigenic epitope in glycoconjugates of several pathogenic fungi. Since Galf is not biosynthesized by mammals, it is an attractive candidate for diagnosis of infection. A monoclonal antibody that recognizes Galf is commercialized for detection of aspergillosis. The linkage of Galf in the natural glycans and the chemical structures of the synthesized Galf-containing oligosaccharides are described in this paper. The oligosaccharides could be used for the synthesis of artificial carbohydrate-based antigens, not enough exploited for diagnosis.
galactofuranose, immune response, diagnosis, biomarkers, fungal infections, synthetic haptens
NCBI PubMed ID: 28883999Publication DOI: 10.4155/fsoa-2017-0030Journal NLM ID: 101665030Publisher: London: Future Science Group
Correspondence: Marino C
; de Lederkremer RM
Institutions: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Centro de Investigaciones en Hidratos de Carbono (CIHIDECAR), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Pabellón II, Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Servicio de Dermatología, Dermatología Experimental, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Found