parapsilosis isolates behave differently in contact with macrophages, indicating that environmental strains cause a higher cellular damage and seem to be more prone to resist to macrophage killing. Since nosocomial fungal infections progress rapidly, and C. parapsilosis is frequently isolated from the hospital settings, there is a critical need for more efforts toward p38 MAPK activity prevention, early diagnosis, and effective treatment of these infections. Among the preventive measures

the environmental surveillance and strict application of cleaning procedures are of major importance to prevent the onset of hospital outbreaks. GS-1101 clinical trial Methods Candida isolates and preparation of cell suspensions Forty-five C. parapsilosis isolates, eight C. orthopsilosis isolates, and four C. metapsilosis isolates were used in this study (Table 1). Twenty-five of the C. parapsilosis isolates were from bloodstream infections, and 20 were obtained from the hospital environment, including bedside tables, doors knobs, surfaces, and air. The identity of the isolates was RG7112 chemical structure confirmed at the species level by locus specific amplification [40] or by sequencing the ribosomal ITS region [41]. Yeast cells were grown overnight at 37°C in YEPD medium (2% glucose, 1% bacto peptone, and 2% yeast extract), recovered

by centrifugation, washed in sterile PBS buffer, and a suspension of 2 × 107cells/ml was prepared in Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium (DMEM). Macrophage culture and determination of candidacidal activity The murine macrophage-like cell line J774A.1 (American Type Culture Center number TIB 67Ralph and Nakoinz, 1975) was cultured in complete DMEM supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated fetal calf serum (FBS), at 37°C in a 5% CO2 atmosphere. After confluent growth, macrophage cells were recovered, washed, and re-suspended in DMEM to a final concentration of 4 × 105cells/ml. Yeast killing was assessed by using a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 1:10 in 24 well tissue-culture plates (Orange) for 60 minutes, at 37°C in a 5% CO2 atmosphere. After incubation macrophage cells were lysed with 800 μl of cold water and wells scrapped to ensure removal of all

the yeast cells. Cetuximab in vivo Lysates were serially diluted and plated on YEPD agar to determine the percentage of viable yeast cells. Controls consisted of yeast cells grown in the same conditions but without macrophages. Candidacidal activity (%) was calculated using the following formula: [(CFU of control well - CFU of test well)/CFU of control well] × 100. Each strain was tested in triplicate. Analysis of C. parapsilosis morphology during macrophage infection Yeast cell morphology in contact with macrophages was evaluated by co-incubating the macrophage cell line with Candida cells, as described above. Macrophage cells were seeded into 24 well tissue-culture plates containing a plastic coverslip in each well (Nunc, Rochester, USA) to allow macrophage adherence.