Development and Validation of Simple RP-HPLC Method for Intracellular Determination of Fluconazole Concentration and Its Application to the Study of Candida albicans Azole Resistance.

Candida albicans (strains NCTC-885-653 and ATCC-10231) long-term cultivated in the presence of antifungal agent fluconazole (FLC) and classical microbiological methods for determination of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) were used in this study. A simple and sensitive method based on reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) has been developed for the determination of FLC intracellular concentration in C. albicans using tinidazole as an internal standard.

The anti-idiotypic antibody 1F7 stimulates monocyte interleukin-10 production and induces endotoxin tolerance.

Background: Pathogens that establish chronic infection elicit immune responses with suppressive cytokines dominating over pro-inflammatory cytokines. Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection are associated with high levels of antiviral antibodies expressing a common idiotype specifically recognized by the 1F7 monoclonal antibody (mAb). The 1F7 mAb is a murine IgMκ antibody raised against immunoglobulin pooled from the plasma of multiple HIV-infected individuals.

Neutrophil F-actin dynamics in Familial Mediterranean Fever: the unequal effect of colchicine on activated neutrophils.

In the innate immune system, cellular adaptation regulates neutrophil activation and chemotaxis, which have a pivotal role in Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) pathogenesis. We investigated neutrophil F-actin, phagocytosis and macropinocytosis dynamics during neutrophil chemoattractant-dependent activation in FMF patients carrying mutations in the MEFV locus. We found that while a non-stimulated neutrophil shows an increased overall F-actin content in patients with FMF, the activation-dependent F-actin dynamics in the presence of chemoattractant peptide is significantly reduced.

Hypothalamic proline rich polypeptide regulates hematopoiesis.

The AGAPEPAEPAQPGVY proline-rich polypeptide (PRP-1) was isolated from neurosecretory granules of the bovine neurohypophysis; it is produced by N. supraopticus and N. paraventricularis.

Design of iodine-lithium-alpha-dextrin liquid crystal with potent antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.

An ideal antimicrobial should be not toxic and possess board spectrum antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal activity, excluding resistance and should affect pathogen-mediated damage of host physiology including immune, nervous and endocrine systems. With the purpose of a combination of nonspecific antimicrobial action of molecular and ionized iodine with systemic immune-modulating property of the negatively charged polysaccharides a complex drug of iodine and lithium on a template of a alpha-dextrin liquid crystal was designed. The physicochemical model of iodine-lithium-alpha-dextrin (ILalphaD) is based on the human blood and the stereochemistry of moving equilibred systems of dynamically balanced organic polymers conformation complexed with the iodine and lithium molecules.

The 1F7 idiotype is selectively expressed on CD5+ B cells and elevated in chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

Antibodies against different chronic viruses, including hepatitis C virus (HCV), express a public cross-reactive idiotype (Id) designated as 1F7. The prominence of this Id may reflect selective engagement of B1 B cells by chronic pathogens. We investigated this by comparing 1F7 Id expression on CD5(+) and CD5(-) B cells, total IgG, total IgM and anti-HCV core antibodies in different HCV exposure settings.

Heightened endotoxin susceptibility of monocytes and neutrophils during familial Mediterranean fever.

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a relapsing autoinflammatory disorder, caused by various mutations in the MEFV gene, which encodes a protein called pyrin, expressed in neutrophils and activated monocytes. Induction of monocyte endotoxin tolerance is observed in FMF patients during attack, whereas monocytes from patients in the attack-free period failed to induce lipopolysaccharide tolerance and exhibited heightened sensitivity to bacterial endotoxin. In this study, we demonstrated that impaired lipopolysaccharide tolerance induction in attack-free FMF patients correlates with both increased lipopolysaccharide-induced proinflammatory cytokine synthesis polarization and a different time-course pattern of lipopolysaccharide-induced changes on monocytic surface expression of CD14 and CD11b coreceptors.

Effect of hypothalamic proline-rich peptide (PRP-1) on neuronal and bone marrow cell apoptosis.

The AGAPEPAEPAQPGVY proline-rich peptide (PRP-1) was isolated from neurosecretory granules of the bovine neurohypophysis; it is produced by N. supraopticus and N. paraventricularis.

Evaluation of amino acids as mediators for the antibacterial activity of iodine-lithium-alpha-dextrin in vitro and in vivo.

Objectives: The systemic therapeutic application of iodophores has not yet been accepted due to limited availability of safe and effective ionized iodine preparations. Here we evaluated the antibacterial activity of iodine-lithium-alpha-dextrin (ILalphaD) both in vitro and in vivo.

Methods: The MIC values of ILalphaD against 189 bacterial isolates in various growth media and in vivo toxicity and protective efficacy of ILalphaD in preventing mortality of rats infected with Staphylococcus aureus were determined.

Impaired endotoxin tolerance induction in patients with familial Mediterranean fever.

Objective: To investigate periodic disturbances in proinflammatory activation of neutrophils and monocytes in patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) both during an attack and in remission.

Methods: 20 FMF patients, who were naive to colchicine treatment and did not have amyloidosis, and 10 patients with Behçet's disease (BD) were enrolled in this study. Phagocytosis, respiratory burst, CD11a/CD18 expression and intracellular cytokine synthesis were determined by flow cytometry.

Dexamethasone, colchicine and iodine-lithium-alpha-dextrin act differentially on the oxidative burst and endotoxin tolerance induction in vitro in patients with Behçet's disease.

Pro-inflammatory activation of innate immune cells, such as macrophages, and neutrophils in patients with Behçet's disease (BD) results in increased production of reactive oxygen species and enhanced adhesion to endothelial cells due to increased expression of adhesion receptors. We investigated the influence of dexamethasone (DEX), colchicine (Col), and iodine-lithium-alpha-dextrin (ILalphaD), during BD, on the respiratory burst of whole blood neutrophils and monocytes, CD11a/CD18 surface expression, monocyte endotoxin tolerance and cytokine synthesis in vitro. In BD patients we observed an increase of the spontaneous, N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe- and LPS-induced respiratory burst of monocytes and neutrophils as well as up-regulation of neutrophil CD11a/CD18 surface expression.

Hypothalamic proline-rich polypeptide is a regulator of oxidative burst in human neutrophils and monocytes.

Objective: The effects of proline-rich polypeptide (PRP) isolated from neurosecretory granules of bovine neurohypophysis produced by nuclei supraopticus and paraventricularis on phagocytosis, bacterial intracellular killing and oxidative burst induction in normal human cells and inflammatory cells from patients with Behçet's disease (BD), i.e. peripheral blood neutrophils and monocytes, were investigated.

Hypothalamic proline-rich polypeptide is an oxidative burst regulator.

The AGAPEPAEPAQPGVY proline-rich polypeptide (PRP) was isolated from neurosecretory granules of the bovine neurohypophysis; it is produced by N. supraopticus and N. paraventricularis.