A Bicistronic Adenoviral Vector Carrying Cytosine Deaminase and Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Increases the Therapeutic Efficacy of Cancer Gene Therapy.

The combination of cytotoxic treatment modalities, including oncolytic viral gene therapies and immunotherapy, usually yields a synergistic effect. In the current study, a bicistronic adenoviral vector, Ad-CD-GMCSF, carrying the cytosine deaminase (CD) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) transcription units driven by a cytomegalovirus promoter was constructed, and the efficacy of the vector was tested in tumor cell lines and a syngeneic mouse model of colon cancer. The tumor cells infected with Ad-CD-GMCSF vector were found to produce a substantial amount of GM-CSF in tumor cell lines.

Effective antibacterial and antioxidant properties of methanolic extract of Laurus nobilis seed oil.

This study was carried out to determine the in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the essential oil, seed oil, and methanolic extract of seed oil obtained from Laurus nobilis L. (Lauraceae). The methanolic extract of seed oil exhibited more effective antibacterial activity comparing to essential oil and seed oil, GC-MS analyses of the essential oil resulted in the identification of 25 compounds.

Diversity of halophilic archaea from six hypersaline environments in Turkey.

The diversity of archaeal strains from six hypersaline environments in Turkey was analyzed by comparing their phenotypic characteristics and 16S rDNA sequences. Thirty-three isolates were characterized in terms of their phenotypic properties including morphological and biochemical characteristics, susceptibility to different antibiotics, and total lipid and plasmid contents, and finally compared by 16S rDNA gene sequences. The results showed that all isolates belong to the family Halobacteriaceae.

Determination of antibiotic resistance and resistance plasmids of clinical Enterococcus species.

To determine the antibiotic resistance pattern and resistance plasmids, we studied 23 antibiotic-resistant clinical isolates of Enterococcus spp. which caused infection in Bayindir-Ankara Hospital, Turkey. Biochemical and physiological identification tests were applied by the Vitek system and compared with the results of protein profiles by SDS-PAGE.