OBJECTIVE: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is chronic inflammatory disease of the oral mucosa, presenting in various clinical forms. The etiology of OLP is still unknown but mounting evidence points to the immunologic basis of this disorder.Aim: Our study was undertaken to quantify the salivary levels of pro‐inflammatory tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) in the reticular and the erosive/atrophic forms of OLP, compared with age‐matched healthy control volunteers.Subjects and methods: Whole saliva from 40 patients with active lesions of OLP, as well as from 20 healthy persons, was investigated for the presence of TNF‐α by enzyme immunoassay.Results: Salivary TNF‐α levels were significantlly increased in patients with OLP in comparison with healthy subjects. The presence of TNF‐α showed positive correlation to clinical forms of OLP, being significantly higher in the erosive/atrophic type than in the reticular type of disease.Conclusion: Saliva provides an ideal medium for the detection of pro‐inflammatory markers of the oral cavity. In patients with OLP, TNF‐α levels in saliva are elevated, correlating with the severity of illness. Salivary TNF‐α analysis may be a useful diagnostic tool and a potential prognostic marker in OLP.

Listeria monocytogenes has been recognized as a significant pathogen, occurring worldwide, capable of causing animal and human infections. In its most severe form, listeriosis is an invasive disease that affects immunocompromised patients. Additionally, pregnant women represent a high-risk group for L. monocytogenes infection. Abortion, stillbirth or severe neonatal infection can be the serious outcome of such an infection. In an experimental murine model of pregnancy-associated listeriosis we studied the impact of L. monocytogenes on the maternal immune response and pregnancy outcome. In comparison to virgin animals, pregnant mice mounted lower levels of protective cytokines and were unable to eliminate the pathogen. The impaired maternal immune response that has been found both on the systemic and local level, facilitated bacterial multiplication in the liver, placenta and ultimately in the fetal tissues. This resulted in severe necrotizing hemorrhagic hepatitis and Listeria-induced placental necrosis, increasing the incidence of postimplantation loss and poor pregnancy outcome.

A population analysis of 103 multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from Croatian hospitals was performed. Twelve sequence types (STs) were identified, with a predominance of international clones ST235 (serotype O11 [41%]), ST111 (serotype O12 [15%]), and ST132 (serotype O6 [11%]). Overexpression of the natural AmpC cephalosporinase was common (42%), but only a few ST235 or ST111 isolates produced VIM-1 or VIM-2 metallo-β-lactamases or PER-1 or GES-7 extended-spectrum β-lactamases.