Invitro candidacidal effect of polymorphonuclear neutrophils of Behcet's patients with or without ocular involvement

In this study our objective was to evaluate the in vitro candidacidal effec t of polymorphonuclear neutrophils of Behcet's patients with or without ocu lar involvement (inactive phase). Fifteen patients with ocular involvement and 15 patients without ocular involvement were studied. Candidacidal assay was performed to assess the in vitro killing of Candida species by the pol ymorphonuclear neutrophils of both the study and control groups. In brief, peripheral venous polymorphonuclear neutrophils of healthy volunteers and p atients with Behcet's disease were obtained by density gradient centrifugat ion. These cells were incubated with Candida spp. (Candida albicans, Candid a tropicalis, Candida glabrata) for 3 h. Samples were seeded onto yeast ext ract peptone dextrose agar, incubated at 25 degreesC in a 5% humidified inc ubator for another 48 h, and formed colonies were counted. There was no sig nificant difference between the candidacidal activity of polymorphonuclear neutrophils of healthy volunteers and of Behcet's patients with or without ocular involvement. Although various immunological abnormalities are report ed in Behcet's disease, in vitro killing of Candida spp., which is one of t he parameters for the phagocytic function of polymorphonuclear neutrophils, was not affected.