Immunodiffusion and Agglutination Tests for Candida in Patients with Neoplastic Disease: Inconsistent Correlation of Results with Invasive Infections

Abstract

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is a pathogenic factor in bacterial meningitis. The effect of thalidomide on TNF-α production by microglia, the resident macrophages of the brain, was evaluated. In primary human fetal microglial cell cultures stimulated with lipopolysaccharide or lipoarabinomannan, thalidomide inhibited TNF-α release in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibitory effect of thalidomide was similar to that of dexamethasone, although expression of TNF-α mRNA in microglial cells was reduced only by thalidomide. The results of this in vitro study suggest that thalidomide could have therapeutic potential in gram-negative bacterial and tuberculous meningitis.