ABSTRACT
Paracoccidioidomycosis is the most prevalent human deep mycosis in Latin America, specially in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Argentina. Patients with benign paracoccidioidomycosis usually exhibit low levels of specific antibodies and adequate cellular immune responses, while those with the disseminated disease typically show high levels of specific antibodies, polyclonal activation of B cells, antigenemia, and impaired cellular immune responses. P. brasiliensis derived antigens can activate B lymphocytes leading to the production of specific antibodies which can be easily detected in both the sera of patients with paracoccidioidomycosis and of infected animals. The study of the antibody response during the course of experimental paracoccidioidomycosis elicited in susceptible and resistant mice has confirmed the association of high IgG levels and severe form of the disease. The role of the mononuclear phagocytic system in resistance to P. brasiliensis infection was evaluated using colloidal carbon, as a blockage agent for macrophages.
