Rapid production of complement fixation antigens for systemic mycotic diseases. I. Coccidioidin: influence of media and mechanical agitation on its development.

The complement fixation test is of great diagnostic and prognostic value in the study of suspected cases of blastomycosis, coccidioidomycosis, and histoplasmosis. As the number of requests for these tests continues to grow along with the increasing awareness of the public health importance of these diseases, the need to produce large stocks of antigens more efficiently has arisen. Accordingly, the Mycology and Serology Units of the Communicable Disease Center are collaborating in an experimental program to develop procedures for the rapid production of satisfactory, reproducible antigens. The production of a complement fixation antigen by Coccidioides immitis was studied first. Until recently, virtually the only antigen available for coccidioidomycosis serology was prepared by Dr. C. E. Smith and his co-workers (1948, 1950) at the University of California's School of Public Health in Berkeley. Although Smith's method is capable of producing reliable and effective antigens, the procedure is very time consuming and frequently yields antigens that are highly anticomplementary or extremely low in complement fixing activity. In order to overcome these defects, Pappagianis and his co-workers (1957) investigated an alternate method of producing coccidioidin. Their antigen was prepared through the lysis of C. immitis mycelium. In this paper another simple, rapid, and consistently reproducible met-hod for preparing a C. immitis complement fixation antigen is described.