Background
Chronic Chagas disease presents several different clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic to severe cardiac and/or digestive clinical forms. Several studies have demonstrated that immunoregulatory mechanisms are important processes for the control of the intense immune activity observed in the chronic phase. T cells play a critical role in parasite specific and non-specific immune response elicited by the host against Trypanosoma cruzi. Specifically, memory T cells, which are basically classified as central and effector memory cells, might have a distinct migratory activity, role and function during the human Chagas disease.Methodology/Principal Findings
Based on the hypothesis that the disease severity in humans is correlated to the quality of immune responses against T. cruzi, we evaluated the memory profile of peripheral CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes as well as its cytokine secretion before and after in vitro antigenic stimulation. We evaluated cellular response from non-infected individuals (NI), patients with indeterminate (IND) or cardiac (CARD) clinical forms of Chagas disease. The expression of CD45RA, CD45RO and CCR7 surface molecules was determined on CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes; the pattern of intracellular cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-10) synthesized by naive and memory cells was determined by flow cytometry. Our results revealed that IND and CARD patients have relatively lower percentages of naive (CD45RAhigh) CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. However, statistical analysis of ex-vivo profiles of CD4+ T cells showed that IND have lower percentage of CD45RAhigh in relation to non-infected individuals, but not in relation to CARD. Elevated percentages of memory (CD45ROhigh) CD4+ T cells were also demonstrated in infected individuals, although statistically significant differences were only observed between IND and NI groups. Furthermore, when we analyzed the profile of secreted cytokines, we observed that CARD patients presented a significantly higher percentage of CD8+CD45RAhigh IFN-γ-producing cells in control cultures and after antigen pulsing with soluble epimastigote antigens.Conclusions
Based on a correlation between the frequency of IFN-γ producing CD8+ T cells in the T cell memory compartment and the chronic chagasic myocarditis, we propose that memory T cells can be involved in the induction of the development of the severe clinical forms of the Chagas disease by mechanisms modulated by IFN-γ. Furthermore, we showed that individuals from IND group presented more TCM CD4+ T cells, which may induce a regulatory mechanism to protect the host against the exacerbated inflammatory response elicited by the infection. 相似文献The callitrichids are non-human primates that feed on insects and plant matter in nature, but in captivity, they are fed mostly an artificial diet containing amounts of gluten, in their toxic forms in items such as wheat, barley and rye. The aim of this research was to estimate the blood β-defensin and Toll like receptor 5 (TLR5) gene expressions and to analyze the stool consistency (firm, soft, diarrheic) in Leontocebus fuscicollis raised in captivity. Blood samples of animals under gluten-free and gluten diets were collected and their fecal output quality was periodically monitored and classified during the course of the study. Gene expression was evaluated using real-time PCR. The stool consistencies of individuals fed a gluten diet were most frequently soft or diarrheic, while it was mostly normal in individuals fed a gluten-free diet. β-Defensin expression increased in individuals fed a gluten diet, but decreased after 15 days. Expression normalized between 30 and 45 days on a gluten-free diet. However, expression of the TLR5 gene did not change under a gluten diet. A gluten diet affects stool quality, and brings about an immediate increase in blood β-defensin expression in the beginning but decreases after 15 days.
相似文献Background
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by the four dengue viruses (DENV-1 to 4) that can also be transmitted by blood transfusion and organ transplantation. The distribution of DENV in the components of blood from infected donors is poorly understood.Methods
We used an in-house TaqMan qRT-PCR assay to test residual samples of plasma, cellular components of whole blood (CCWB), serum and clot specimens from the same collection from blood donors who were DENV-RNA-reactive in a parallel blood safety study. To assess whether DENV RNA detected by TaqMan was associated with infectious virus, DENV infectivity in available samples was determined by culture in mosquito cells.Results
DENV RNA was detected by TaqMan in all tested blood components, albeit more consistently in the cellular components; 78.8% of CCWB, 73.3% of clots, 86.7% of sera and 41.8% of plasma samples. DENV-1 was detected in 48 plasma and 97 CCWB samples while DENV-4 was detected in 21 plasma and 31 CCWB samples. In mosquito cell cultures, 29/111 (26.1%) plasma and 32/97 (32.7%) CCWB samples were infectious. A subset of samples from 29 donors was separately analyzed to compare DENV viral loads in the available blood components. DENV viral loads did not differ significantly between components and ranged from 3–8 log10 PCR-detectable units/ml.Conclusions
DENV was present in all tested components from most donors, and viral RNA was not preferentially distributed in any of the tested components. Infectious DENV was also present in similar proportions in cultured plasma, clot and CCWB samples, indicating that these components may serve as a resource when sample sizes are limited. However, these results suggest that the sensitivity of the nucleic acid tests (NAT) for these viruses would not be improved by testing whole blood or components other than plasma. 相似文献Background
Leptospirosis is one of the most important neglected tropical bacterial diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, very little is known about the circulating etiological agents of leptospirosis in this region. In this study, we describe the serological and molecular features of leptospires isolated from 104 leptospirosis patients in Guadeloupe (n = 85) and Martinique (n = 19) and six rats captured in Guadeloupe, between 2004 and 2012.Methods and Findings
Strains were studied by serogrouping, PFGE, MLVA, and sequencing 16SrRNA and secY. DNA extracts from blood samples collected from 36 patients in Martinique were also used for molecular typing of leptospires via PCR. Phylogenetic analyses revealed thirteen different genotypes clustered into five main clades that corresponded to the species: L. interrogans, L. kirschneri, L. borgpetersenii, L. noguchi, and L. santarosai. We also identified L. kmetyi in at least two patients with acute leptospirosis. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that this species has been identified in humans. The most prevalent genotypes were associated with L. interrogans serovars Icterohaemorrhagiae and Copenhageni, L. kirschneri serovar Bogvere, and L. borgpetersenii serovar Arborea. We were unable to identify nine strains at the serovar level and comparison of genotyping results to the MLST database revealed new secY alleles.Conclusions
The overall serovar distribution in the French West Indies was unique compared to the neighboring islands. Typing of leptospiral isolates also suggested the existence of previously undescribed serovars. 相似文献The Pineapple mealybug wilt-associated virus (PMWaV) provokes a disease that causes considerable losses to pineapple growers due to the reduced leaf tissue turgescence, resulting in leaf necrosis and death in severe cases. In this work, we describe the comparison of shoot tip culture and cryotherapy methods to eradicate the pineapple wilt disease-associated ampeloviruses. Plants from the accessions Ananas comosus var. comosus (AGB-009), var. bracteatus (AGB-119), and var. parguazensis (AGB-376) were indexed by RT-PCR, confirming mixed infections of PMWaV-1, PMWaV-2, and PMWaV-3. The accessions were cultured in vitro and their shoot tips treated by cryotherapy following a droplet vitrification protocol. The regeneration rate from shoot tip culture was 93% for AGB-376 and 100% for the other two accessions. After freezing, AGB-376 had 100% regeneration subsequent to exposure to PVS2 for 45 min, followed by 95% for AGB-009, while for AGB-119 the optimal exposure time was 60 min, with plant regeneration from nearly 80% of the shoot tips. For the accessions AGB-009 and AGB-376, all the recovered plants were virus free by the two methods, while 50% of the plants from accession AGB-119 remained infected. These results indicate that shoot tip culture alone or in association with cryotherapy is a promising routine method for virus removal from pineapple plant tissues and is useful to ensure that backup reserves of pineapple germplasm, conserved by in vitro bank and cryobank, are formed with virus-free plants.
相似文献