Simultaneous determination of six antibiotics in human serum by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection.

Antibiotics are widely used in intensive care patients to treat severe infections. To avoid bacterial resistance or toxic side effects, the determination of serum concentration of ABs is advisable. Therefore, in this study, we developed and validated a simple and fast high-performance liquid chromatography method with UV detection for the simultaneous determination of four β-lactam ABs (meropenem, imipenem, ceftazidime, and piperacillin) and two coadministered substances (cilastatin and tazobactam) in human serum.

Comparison of the Serum Tumor Markers S100 and Melanoma-inhibitory Activity (MIA) in the Monitoring of Patients with Metastatic Melanoma Receiving Vaccination Immunotherapy with Dendritic Cells.

Background: In patients with melanoma, early dissemination via lymphatic and hematogenous routes is frequently seen. Thus, besides clinical follow-up examination and imaging, reliable melanoma-specific serological tumor markers are needed.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively compared two serum markers for melanoma, S100 and melanoma-inhibitory activity (MIA), for monitoring of patients with metastatic melanoma under either adjuvant or therapeutic vaccination immunotherapy with dendritic cells (DC).

Determination of meropenem levels in human serum by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection.

Meropenem is a β-lactam broad-spectrum antibiotic and belongs to the subgroup of carbapenems. It is primarily used in intensive care units for intravenous treatment of severe infections. To avoid bacterial resistance or toxic side effects, the determination of serum meropenem concentration is highly advisable.

A mutation within the SH2 domain of slp-76 regulates the tissue distribution and cytokine production of iNKT cells in mice.

TCR ligation is critical for the selection, activation, and integrin expression of T lymphocytes. Here, we explored the role of the TCR adaptor protein slp-76 on iNKT-cell biology. Compared to B6 controls, slp-76(ace/ace) mice carrying a missense mutation (Thr428Ile) within the SH2-domain of slp-76 showed an increase in iNKT cells in the thymus and lymph nodes, but a decrease in iNKT cells in spleens and livers, along with reduced ADAP expression and cytokine response.

Efavirenz Has the Highest Anti-Proliferative Effect of Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors against Pancreatic Cancer Cells.

Background: Cancer prevention and therapy in HIV-1-infected patients will play an important role in future. The non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI) Efavirenz and Nevirapine are cytotoxic against cancer cells in vitro. As other NNRTIs have not been studied so far, all clinically used NNRTIs were tested and the in vitro toxic concentrations were compared to drug levels in patients to predict possible anti-cancer effects in vivo.