Live Blastomyces dermatitidis yeast-induced responses of immune and nonimmune human mononuclear cells.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from humans with treated blastomycosis or from normal persons were cultured with live Blastomyces dermatitidis yeast. There was no inhibition of growth of the fungus in this suspension culture technique but morphologic and functional differences of the human cells were great between the two groups. Lymphocyte stimulation by live Blastomyces yeast was found in the patient group but not in the normal donors. These events add to the observations that cellular immunity is expressed in blastomycosis.