Impaired
antigen-specific cell-mediated immunity (CMI) is a primary immunological disturbance observed in individuals that develop
paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) after exposure to Paracoccidioides spp. Restoration of Paracoccidioides-specific CMI is crucial to stop the antifungal treatment and avoid relapses. A convenient and specific laboratory tool to assess
antigen specific CMI is required for the appropriate clinical treatment of
fungal infections, in order to decrease the time of antifungal
therapy. We used an
interferon-γ release assay strategy, used in the diagnosis of
latent tuberculosis infection, to address our aims in this study. Information on
proteins secreted by two well-studied representative strains-Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Pb18) and P. lutzii (Pb-01)-were explored using PubMed or MEDLINE. From 26 publications, 252
proteins were identified, of which 203 were similar according to the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool. This enabled a selection of conserved
peptides using the MEGA software. The SignalP-5.0, TMHMM, IEDB, NetMHC II, and IFNepitope algorithms were used to identify appropriate
epitopes. In our study, we predicted antigenic
epitopes of Paracoccidioides that could bind to MHC class II and induce IFN-γ secretion. These
T cell epitopes can be used in the development of a laboratory tool to monitor the CMI of patients with PCM.