BACKGROUND Candida species, in conditions of microbiota imbalance or decreased immune defenses, may be one of the main human fungal pathogens. Virulence factors constitute the mechanisms used by the fungus to avoid host defenses. AIMS This study aimed to investigate the in vitro production of virulence factors, such as hemolytic activity, and deoxyribonuclease (DNase), proteinase, and phospho...

A series of aliphatic amides of amphotericin B have been synthesized. The structure of the derivatives which were obtained has been established by mass spectrometry. Their biological properties: inhibition of growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and hemolytic activity have been determined. The quantitative relationships between the activity of amides of amphotericin B against S. cerevisiae and th...

Sclera from donor globes was eluted in phosphate-buffered saline at 4 degrees C for 24 hr. Hemolytic assays were used to measure functional C1, C4, C2, C3, C5 and C6 in scleral eluates. Radial immunodiffusion was used to measure Factor B, a component of the alternative complement pathway, and albumin in scleral eluates. Molecular weight appeared to be a factor in determining the hemolytic activ...

When washed streptococci were incubated in a phosphate buffer containing MgSO4 and maltose (Bernheimer's basal medium) and centrifuged, no hemolytic activity was detected in the supernatant. Although incubation of the spent medium with carrier oligonucleotide did not yield active hemolysin, the mixture turned to be significantly hemolytic, upon ethanol precipitation and dehydration. Oxygen stab...

A concentrated bacterial culture supernatant from the hemolytic Moraxella bovis strain UQV 148NF was used to immunize mice and generate monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). One, MAb G3/D7, neutralized the hemolytic activity of M. bovis and recognized a 94-kDa protein by Western blot analysis in hemolytic M. bovis strains representing each of the different fimbrial serogroups. Exposure of corneal epith...

We recovered a non-beta-hemolytic Streptococcus pyogenes strain from a severe soft tissue infection. In this isolate, we detected a premature stop codon within the sagC gene of the streptolysin S (SLS) biosynthetic operon. Reintroduction of full-length sagC gene on a plasmid vector restored the beta-hemolytic phenotype to our clinical isolate, indicating that the point mutation in sagC accounte...

Seven analogs of the natural, α-helix peptides IsCT1 and IsCT2-found in the venom of scorpion Opithancatus Madagascariensis-have been synthesized and tested to compare their antibacterial and hemolytic activity against natural peptides. In general, results show that increasing hydrophobicity by substituting positions 5 and 9 of the sequences with alanine, valine, and leucine, enhances antibacte...

Melittin, the 26-residue predominant toxic peptide from bee venom, exhibits potent antibacterial activity in addition to its hemolytic activity. The synthetic peptide of 15 residues corresponding to its C-terminal end (MCF), which encompasses its most amphiphilic segment, is now being shown to possess antibacterial activity about 5-7 times less compared to that of melittin. MCF, however, is 300...

T HE SELF-LIMITED NATURE of drug-induced hemolytic crises has been effectively demonstrated by Dern and associates1 in American Negroes, and is believed to be a peculiar feature of primaquine sensitivity. It is well known that gbucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-(G-6-PD ) deficient states effect also the Caucasian racial group and particularly the Sardinians among whom 15 per cent are affected.2 ...