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Metschnikowia pulcherrima is a highly effective biocontrol yeast due to its pigment pulcherrimin that accumulates in the cells and in the growth medium. Three different strains of M. pulcherrima were isolated from local grapes. The yeast isolates were characterized on the basis of their biochemical, physiological and ITS1-5.8 s rDNA-ITS2 region. Based on the obtained results, the M. pulcherrima isolates were identifi ed as new strains of M. pulcherrima. Strong antagonistic activities of the M. pulcherrima strains on the human pathogens Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, Candida krusei, and Trichosporon mucoides were determined. In addition, antagonistic effects of these M. pulcherrima strains were also tested against Aspergillus fl avus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma spp., Paecilomyces spp., and Bipolaris spp. and it was shown that the three different strains of M. pulcherrima also have an antagonistic effect on the growth of these fungal species at different extents. This study showed that all three strains of M. pulcherrima produce the same amount of the pigment pulcherrimin, but their antimicrobial activities on different microorganisms show important variations.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) enhances leukocyte adherence to vascular endothelium and increases procoagulant activity in the endothelial cells. Thus it may be implicated in the pathogenesis of acute vascular occlusions. To study the role of TNF in the early stages of acute myocardial infarction (MI), the authors measured circulating TNF levels in the sera of patients with acute MI and unstable angina pectoris. Blood samples were obtained within six hours after onset of chest pain and stored at -70 degrees until tested. A sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test was used for TNF measurement. C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were determined semiquantitatively. Immediate complications such as heart failure, arrhythmia, and shock were also noted. Twenty-four patients with electrocardiographically and biochemically confirmed acute MI and 14 patients with unstable angina pectoris were included in the study. TNF levels were serially assessed at the time of admission and at hours 6, 24, 48, 72, and 96 after onset of chest pain in 2 patients with acute MI. Detectable TNF was found in 13 sera of the acute MI group (range; 10-1510 pg/mL) and 4 sera of the angina pectoris group (range; 15-240 pg/mL). There was no correlation between the serum TNF levels and the occurrence of complications and the extent of myocardial damage. CRP response was unrelated to TNF levels. Contrary to previous reports, serial measurement of TNF revealed that peak values were reached within six hours and disappeared after twenty-four hours.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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The roles of CRP, PCT, serum amyloid A (SAA), and cytokines in the diagnosis of fungal infections have not yet been clearly demonstrated. This study aims to measure the serum levels of interleukin (IL)-23, IL-17, IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-10, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), and serum amyloid A (SAA) in cases of candidemia and to compare them with those observed in cases of bacteremia. For this purpose, the serum cytokine levels from 50 patients with candidemia were compared with those of 14 patients with polymicrobial sepsis, 30 patients with bacteremia, and 27 healthy control subjects. The cytokine levels were studied using sandwich ELISAs according to the manufacturer protocol. The serum levels of TGF-β, IL-23, and IL-17 were found to be significantly higher in the candidemia group in comparison with the samples from those with bacteremia and healthy controls. The PCT and SAA levels were higher in samples from the group with bacteremia those from individuals with candidemia and the healthy control group. Assuming an IL-17 level threshold of >38.79 pg/ml, the sensitivity and specificity were 38% and 96.6%, respectively but considering an IL-23 threshold of >59.97 pg/ml, the sensitivity and specificity values were found to be 72% and 60%, respectively. The sensitivity and the specificity of the TGF-ß levels were found to be 85.71% and 53.33%, respectively, when the TGF-ß threshold is >560 pg/ml. PCT and SAA demonstrated a superior performance for the differentiation of candidemia and bacteremia. Our study demonstrates that IL-17, IL-23, TGF-ß, PCT, and SAA levels could be a diagnostic marker for candidemia.