Giornale di batteriologia, virologia ed immunologia最新文献

As a diagnostic tool in infectious diseases by CANDIDA species, two different commercial kits have been tested. A LATEX agglutination-test for CANDIDA circulating antigens and an E.L.I.S.A. for detecting specific antibodies. We have examined 107 sets of anti-HIV + subjects (63 with positive culture and 44 negative) against 44 health controls. All controls were negative for circulating antigens, where as 27% resulted positive for specific antibodies. In the group of anti-HIV +, with positive culture for CANDIDA the 45% proved positive for CANDIDA circulating antigens, whereas only the 9.5% resulted negative. The results, shown in the present work, suggests the weight of LATEX test for its diagnostic reliability, its simplicity, while the E.L.I.S.A. for detection of specific antibodies turns out of difficult interpretation in distinguishing between common colonization and infection by CANDIDA species.

A T cell-derived lymphokine, IL-4, has been shown to have activating and growth promoting properties on macrophages, T cells and B cells. IL-4 could thus be used to augment immunoreactivity in the treatment of tumors. To evaluate its ability to promote an immune reaction capable of hampering tumor growth, we injected mice with small amounts of recombinant IL-4 perilymphatically daily for ten days near the challenge site of a poorly immunogenic syngenic fibrosarcoma (CE-2). These low doses activated such a strong immune reaction that incipient syngenic tumors were rejected. Our results suggest that the host immune system plays a fundamental role in this IL-4 dependent lymphokine-activated tumor inhibition (LATI).

The antiviral activities of normal rat peritoneal macrophages versus Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 were inhibited by sera from tumor-bearing rats and 3M KCl extracts of tumor mass. The inhibitory activity was demonstrated on the extrinsic as well as on the intrinsic macrophage functions. Sera from Corynebacterium parvum and Listeria monocytogenes treated tumor bearing rats did not inhibit these macrophages functions. Furthermore the 3 M KCl extracts from the tumor mass of the above treated TBR show a decrease in the capability to impair these macrophage functions. On the other hand, the treatment with the oral polyvalent adjuvant "Buccalin" was not able to restore the compromised antiviral activity in tumor bearing rats.

The Authors have evaluated, by DNA-probe hybridization, the presence of CMV in the cellular fractions of different body fluids from immunocompromised patients. This specific methodology appear to be rapid to perform, adaptable to different clinical samples and sensitive. Even in absence of a supporting evaluation of specific antibodies, direct detection of virus, by DNA-probe, seems to be the most efficient and rapid approach to confirm the diagnosis either of active phase or reactivating of CMV infection.

The policies, laws, regulations governing the prescription and the use of antibiotics in 41 countries are examined. The enforcement of restrictions and the relations with the emergence of resistant strains are discussed. Emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria result augmented in developing countries. Efforts to improves, in these nations, sanitation, nutrition, right information, education and usage of antibiotics must be taken into consideration.

After a short introduction on bacterial resistance to the antibiotics and on the importance of the problem of emergence of the resistant strains, the mechanisms responsible are discussed. There are three major ways by which bacteria resist beta-lactam antibiotics; these include: altered outer membrane permeability, production of beta-lactamase and diminished affinity of the PbPs. Production of beta-lactamase is by far the most frequently encountered; for this reason there has been a major effort in the past 20 year to design new beta-lactam antibiotics, but on the other side bacteria elaborate constantly new strategies against new antibiotics. Moreover the use of antibacterial agents over the past half century has elicited a widespread deployment of genes for resistance in population of bacteria throughout the world and is conditioning the evolution of microbes.

Within a three years research program, infection tests were carried on adults of Corythucha ciliata wintering on the plane-trees of same city avenues, inoculating entomopathogenic deuteromycetes Beauveria bassiana, Verticillium lecanii, Paecilomyces farinsus, microorganisms which are known to be naturally present in such an environment. Inoculated fungi were able to settle only where the trees were free from any kind of disturbance, while this failed to occur in the areas of intense car traffic. Number of treatments efficiently affected pathogens diffusion in the trees. The persistency of the parasites on the insects, even one year after the treatment, seems to indicate the possibility of their use for the limitation of C. ciliata.