Virulence factors of Candida species isolated from patients with urinary tract infection and obstructive uropathy.

OBJECTIVE: Fungal urinary tract infections due to Candida have increased significantly in recent years. Our research objective was to study Candida species in urine samples of patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs) associated with obstructive uropathy and to investigate the virulence factors of the isolated Candida. METHODS: Patients were divided into two groups: Group I (cases): 50 patients with UTIs and obstructive uropathy. Group II (control): 50 patients with UTIs but with no functional or anatomical obstruction of their urinary tract. Clinical histories and physical examinations, together with laboratory investigations of urine samples were carried out in all patients in this study. Mid stream urine samples were examined microscopically and by fungal cell culture. The isolated Candida species were identified by analytical profile index (API). Candida Virulence factors were determined for the isolated Candida. The susceptibility to fluconazole was evaluated. RESULTS: This study revealed an overall isolation rate of 27% of Candida species among all patient groups. The rate was 36% in cases, and 18% in controls, a difference found to be statistically significant (P<0.05). By API, C.albicans was detected in 44% of Candida species in cases, and in 33% in controls. While C.glabrata was detected in 28% of Candida species in cases, and in 22% in controls. C.tropicalis was detected in 17% of Candida species in cases, and in 22% in controls. Both C.krusei and C.kyfr were detected in 5.5% of Candida species in cases, and in 11% in controls. In terms of virulence factors the study showed that 11 out of 27 (40.5%) of Candida isolates were biofilm positive by tube adherence. Phospholipase activity was demonstrated in 12 out of 27 (44.5%) of Candida isolates. Secretory aspartic proteinase activity was demonstrated in 13 out of 27 (48%) of the Candida isolates. CONCLUSION: Candida is an important cause of UTIs and obstructive uropathy is a major predisposing factor.

Prevalence of wheat allergy in Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Wheat allergy has been suggested to represent an important allergic disease. This study collates clinical and laboratory aspects in patients with wheat allergy in Al-Kharj city, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: Total and specific IgE were measured in 15 suspected cases of wheat allergy. Protein allergenicity was assessed with Western blotting. RESULTS: Significant elevation of total and specific IgE was found in 4 cases. Basophlia was also demonstrated on blood film. Western blotting results showed 2 bands (83 and 40 kDa). CONCLUSION: Wheat allergy must also be considered when planning treatment of asthma and eczema of adult patients.

Animal allergy among husbandry personnel in Riyadh.

BACKGROUND: The importance of specific animal allergy in immunopathology of asthma and atopic diseases remained to be defined. METHODS: We measured total and specific IgE. Western blotting of some allergens was also characterised. RESULT: There was a significant elevation of IgE in 3 persons among 15 samples collected. Western blotting showed common husbandry allergens from 3 sources that have common allergenicity. CONCLUSION: Exposure to animal products exacerbates allergic asthma in adults, suggesting that preventive measures should be taken to reduce their sensitivity.

Biomedical research in the Middle Eastern countries: update and insight using SCImago Journal Rank indicator.

BACKGROUND: There is a dire need in the Arab world and Middle Eastern countries to reform the higher education, research policy and planning for improving the quality to meet the needs of modern society. The impact factor (IF) was developed in the 1960s by Eugene Garfield of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) in the USA. It has been extensively used for more than 40 years. The SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) indicator belongs to this new family of indicators based on eigenvector centrality was introduced since 2007. The SJR indicator is a size-independent metric aimed at measuring the current 'average prest (se text) per paper' of journals for use in research evaluation processes. METHODS: We present the status o the biomedical scientific research in the Middle Eastern countries through the newly developed SJR indicator showing some of the proposed ways that clearly can be applied for enhancing and development of that field in the Middle Eastern countries. RESULTS: During the period from 1996 to 2008, Northern America, Western Europe and Asiatic region are the major contributors of the scientific research Worldwide. In the Middle East, the prominent two main Arab countries are Egypt and Saudi Arabia, nevertheless, they need more planned strategies for optimal contribution to their Middle East, Arab region and the World, despite the tangible achievements of the Arab states in the higher education and scientific research during the last decade. CONCLUSION: The SJR is seemingly satisfactory for ranking the countries for their scientific contribution and impact.

A role for the Fas/Fas ligand apoptotic pathway in regulating myeloid progenitor cell kinetics.

Bone marrow from wild-type mice and mice with mutated Fas (lpr) or mutated Fas ligand (gld) was used to investigate the role of the Fas/FasL system in the regulation of myeloid progenitor cell kinetics.Granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming cells (CFU-GM) were measured by a standard colony assay and the proliferative activity of CFU-GM was measured by replating primary colonies and observing secondary colony formation. Fas expression was restored to lpr mouse bone marrow cells by retrovirus-mediated gene transfer and gld mouse marrow cells were treated with soluble FasL. Wild-type marrow cells were treated with YVAD (a caspase inhibitor) or anti-Fas monoclonal antibodies. There were greater frequencies of myeloid progenitor cells (CFU-GM) in lpr and gld mouse marrow compared to wild-type (WT) marrow (p = 0.0008). The proliferative capacity of CFU-GM was also significantly greater for lpr and gld CFU-GM compared to WT CFU-GM (p = 0.0003 and 0.0001, respectively). Retrovirus-mediated restoration of Fas into lpr marrow, and provision of soluble FasL (sFasL) to gld CFU-GM reduced CFU-GM proliferation to WT levels. Treatment of WT CFU-GM with YVAD or anti-FasL monoclonal antibody increased CFU-GM proliferation to the levels found in lpr and gld CFU-GM. YVAD significantly increased and anti-Fas significantly reduced the proliferative capacity of human CFU-GM (p = 0.015 and 0.04, respectively).Fas, FasL, and caspase activation may play an important role in regulating myeloid progenitor cell kinetics.

Apoptosis as a tool for therapeutic agents in haematological diseases.

Apoptosis, an active mechanism of cell death, is an important process in many biological systems. Apoptosis is thought to contribute to many disease processes. This notion has raised expectations that therapeutic opportunities will naturally follow once a better understanding of these processes has been achieved. The regulation of apoptosis in normal and malignant haematological diseases represents an important therapeutic approach in the treatment of leukaemia and lymphoma. This review summarises recent developments in the clinical manipulation of apoptosis pathways in haematological therapy.

Cytokines and soluble intracellular adhesion molecule 1 in the sera of Saudi eczematous children.

We report five children with atopic eczema. The level of soluble adhesion molecules is known to correlate with disease severity. On the assumption that atopic eczema is a T-lymphocyte-mediated inflammatory disease, in this study, we aimed to determine the presence of soluble intracellular adhesion molecule (sICAM) 1 and the release of inflammatory cytokines. The patient sera were used to measure sICAM-1 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the concentration of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5 in whole blood culture supernatant was determined by a flow cytometry microsphere-based assay. sICAM-1 was dramatically higher in these patients than healthy controls. In addition, the results showed an increase in IL-4 and IL-5 concentration compared with control subjects. In conclusion, these results showed that sICAM-1 expression is important in inflammation of epithelial cells and can be used as a useful parameter in monitoring the disease activity. The study suggests that T-helper cell subset plays an important role in initiating eczematous disease and that additional studies are needed to explore such a role.