Salivary IgA and serum IgA and IgG antibodies to Candida albicans in HIV-infected subjects

Abstract

This study sought to determine IgA, IgG antibodies to Candida albicans in whole saliva and serum from HIV-infected patients and to compare them to a group of healthy controls. The study population consisted of 34 HIV-infected individuals free of any other systemic diseases and thirty healthy controls. IgA concentrations in saliva and IgA and IgG concentrations in serum were measured by a micro enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. No significant differences were observed in salivary and serum IgA antibodies to C. albicans between the two study groups. Serum IgG antibodies were found to be significantly lower in the HIV-infected (P < 0.05). No significant changes were observed in the specific activity of anti-Candida IgA and IgG antibodies in saliva and serum, in both the study groups. The undifferentiated levels of secretory-IgA antibodies to C. albicans in the patients' and the controls' saliva could be an indicator of the high immune response to opportunistic infections of the HIV-infected subjects, a fact that is verified by the lack of oral candidiasis in the patients' group. The low levels of IgG antibodies in the serum of the HIV-infected patients confirm the high immune response of them.