More infections were caused by non-albicans than Candida albicans strains. The majority of patients were treated only after diagnostic confirmation, rather than empirically. First-line antifungal susceptibility was associated with lower mortality.

BackgroundTo explore the mechanism of the different clinical efficacies of mesenchymal stem cell transplantation (MSCT) and identify a possible serum biomarker for predicting the therapeutic effect of MSCT in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.MethodsA total of 105 patients with persistently active RA and poor responses to traditional medication were randomly divided into MSCT and control groups. Outcomes were evaluated according to the 28-joint Disease Activity Score and Health Assessment Questionnaire, serological indicators, regulatory T cell (Treg) to T helper 17 (Th17) cell ratio, and inflammatory cytokine levels. Twelve weeks after MSCT, the outcomes of the MSCT group were evaluated according to the European League against Rheumatism response criteria. Patients with a good or moderate response were added to the response group, and those with no response were added to the no-response group.ResultsNo serious adverse events were reported for either MSCT subgroup (28 in the response group and 24 in the no-response group). The therapeutic effects lasted for 48 weeks without continuous administration. Notably, a transient increase in serum IFN-γ (>2 pg/ml) levels was observed in the response group, but not in the no-response group. Furthermore, an increase in IL-10 levels and the Treg/Th17 ratio and a reduction in IL-6 levels appeared 2–3 weeks after the transient IFN-γ increase.ConclusionsAllogeneic MSCT is safe and feasible, and we propose high serum IFN-γ levels as a potent biomarker for predicting MSCT response.Trial registration chictr.org, ChiCTR-ONC-16008770. Registered 3 July 2016, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=14820Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12967-018-1541-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Although C. albicans was the predominant single species, non-albicans species constituted >50% of isolates. Fluconazole susceptibility was lower in most non-albicans species, indicating that fluconazole resistance should be closely monitored. Susceptibility to voriconazole, amphotericin B and caspofungin is encouraging. Differences between these data and those from other regions emphasize the importance of assessing regional variations.

Polymorphisms of IL-1beta/-1470, IL-1beta/-511, IL-1beta/-31, IL-4/-589, IL-6/-572, IL-8/-251, IL-10/-819, and TNFalpha/-308 are susceptibility loci for the development of sepsis and organ dysfunction in major trauma patients.