Detection and identification of fungi in blood using broad-range 28S rDNA PCR amplification and species-specific hybridisation.

The aim of the present study was to develop a PCR-based method to detect and identify fungi directly from human venous blood. We used broad-range PCR primers that targeted a part of the large subunit 28S rRNA genes. To obtain species-specific hybridisation probes, type strains of Candida albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis and Cryptococcus neoformans were PCR amplified, and the amplicons were analysed by gene sequencing. Based on the sequence analysis, species-specific probes that targeted variable regions were designed and used in hybridisation analyses. Between 2 to 10 fungal cells/ml of spiked blood samples could be detected and correctly identified to species. We applied the technique to blood samples obtained from two patients with or two patients without verified candidaemia. The three samples of candidaemia patients were correctly identified to species level, and those of the negative patients remained negative. This method is a potential tool for diagnosis of systemic invasive candidiasis.

Identification of subunits of the 650 kDa 12(S)-HETE binding complex in carcinoma cells.

Cytosol and nuclei of Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells contain high affinity binding sites specific for the arachidonic acid metabolite 12(S)-hydroxy-5,8,10,14-eicosatetraenoic acid (12(S)-HETE). In this report we present evidence that the cytosolic 12(S)-HETE binding complex also occurs in human erythroleukemia (HEL) and promonocytic leukemia (U937) cells as well as in murine 3T3-L1 preadipocytes but not in intestinal epithelial cells (Int407). The cytosolic 650 kDa 12(S)-HETE-binding complex was found to consist of subunits; raising the ATP concentration in cytosol led to conversion of the 650 kDa complex to a 50 kDa binding component, presumably the actual 12(S)-HETE binding polypeptide. Lowering of the cytosolic concentration of ATP had the opposite effect, i.e., the amount of the 650 kDa complex increased. Another subunit of the 650 kDa complex was identified as heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) by Western blot analyses and coimmunoprecipitation. Hsp70 was present in substoichiometric amounts, in an approximate 1:6 ratio. The multimeric nature of the binding complex and the identification of hsp70 as a subunit suggest that there are similarities between the 12(S)-HETE binding protein and receptors of the steroid/thyroid hormone superfamily.