Stochastic switching is an example of phenotypic bet hedging, where offspring can express a phenotype different from that of their parents. Phenotypic switching is well documented in viruses, yeast, and bacteria and has been extensively studied when the selection pressures vary through time. However, there has been little work on the evolution of phenotypic switching under both spatially and te...

This study reports the rates of phenotypic switching in strains of Candida albicans isolated from superficial and invasive infections. Of 19 invasive strains, 68% showed switching activity, often at very high rates, compared with only 28% of 40 strains isolated from superficial sites (P = 0.004).

Two recombinant phenotypic assays for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coreceptor usage and an HIV envelope genotypic predictor were employed on a set of clinically derived HIV type 1 (HIV-1) samples in order to evaluate the concordance between measures. Previously genotyped HIV-1 samples derived from antiretroviral-naïve individuals were tested for coreceptor usage using two independent phen...

Background: Generation of an effective dendritic cell (DC) based cancer vaccine depends on appropriate differentiation of monocytes in vitro. Objective: To compare the effects of monocyte separation methods, flask adherence (Flask-DC) and magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS-DC), on phenotypic and functional characteristics of resultant DCs. Methods: DCs from healthy volunteers were generated ...

BACKGROUND Commercial diagnostics are commonly used to identify gram-positive bacteria. Errors have been reported mostly at the species level. We have found certain phenotypic criteria used in API systems which significantly misidentify Leuconostoc, an emerging human pathogen, at the genus level. We also attempt to find practical, conventional phenotypic assays for accurate identification of th...

Coreceptor tropism antagonists represent a new class of antiretrovirals for the treatment of HIV infection. The knowledge of patients' viral population tropism before the initiation of and during therapy with such compounds may be critical in order to optimize treatment strategies. In this review we focus on the characteristics of phenotypic assays for the determination of HIV coreceptor tropis...

background: generation of an effective dendritic cell (dc) based cancer vaccine depends on appropriate differentiation of monocytes in vitro. objective: to compare the effects of monocyte separation methods, flask adherence (flask-dc) and magnetic activated cell sorting (macs-dc), on phenotypic and functional characteristics of resultant dcs. methods: dcs from healthy volunteers were generated ...

background aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and tannerella forsythensis are two major pathogens in destructive periodontal disease in humans. the detection of these bacteria is needed for diagnosis and management of the mentioned diseases. objectives we aimed to develop and compare improved multiplex conventional and sybr green real time pcr assays for a specific diagnosis of the organisms...

HIV drug resistance testing is becoming an integral part of antiretroviral drug development and of patient management. The parameters that characterize the performance of both phenotypic and genotypic assays and the validation of this performance are essential to their proper use for these applications. Several principles and biological factors impacting drug resistance testing are summarized. ...