Early and Late Pathogenic Events of Newborn Mice Encephalitis Experimentally Induced by Itacaiunas and Curionópolis Bracorhabdoviruses Infection

In previous reports we proposed a new genus for Rhabdoviridae and described neurotropic preference and gross neuropathology in newborn albino Swiss mice after Curionopolis and Itacaiunas infections. In the present report a time-course study of experimental encephalitis induced by Itacaiunas and Curionopolis virus was conducted both in vivo and in vitro to investigate cellular targets and the sequence of neuroinvasion. We also investigate, after intranasal inoculation, clinical signs, histopathology and apoptosis in correlation with viral immunolabeling at different time points. Curionopolis and Itacaiunas viral antigens were first detected in the parenchyma of olfactory pathways at 2 and 3 days post-inoculation (dpi) and the first clinical signs were observed at 4 and 8 dpi, respectively. After Curionopolis infection, the mortality rate was 100% between 5 and 6 dpi, and 35% between 8 and 15 dpi after Itacaiunas infection. We identified CNS mice cell types both in vivo and in vitro and the temporal sequence of neuroanatomical olfactory areas infected by Itacaiunas and Curionopolis virus. Distinct virulences were reflected in the neuropathological changes including TUNEL immunolabeling and cytopathic effects, more intense and precocious after intracerebral or in vitro inoculations of Curionopolis than after Itacaiunas virus. In vitro studies revealed neuronal but not astrocyte or microglial cytopathic effects at 2 dpi, with monolayer destruction occurring at 5 and 7 dpi with Curionopolis and Itacaiunas virus, respectively. Ultrastructural changes included virus budding associated with interstitial and perivascular edema, endothelial hypertrophy, a reduced and/or collapsed small vessel luminal area, thickening of the capillary basement membrane, and presence of phagocytosed apoptotic bodies. Glial cells with viral budding similar to oligodendrocytes were infected with Itacaiunas virus but not with Curionopolis virus. Thus, Curionopolis and Itacaiunas viruses share many pathological and clinical features present in other rhabdoviruses but distinct virulence and glial targets in newborn albino Swiss mice brain

Seroprevalence and factors associated with herpes simplex virus type 2 among HIV-negative high-risk men who have sex with men from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: a cross-sectional study

Submitted by Frederico Azevedo ([email protected]) on 2010-11-04T17:19:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 seroprevalence_and_factors.pdf: 273577 bytes, checksum: 742e51b14ff9ef765bf31b52f3fc8f1a (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2010-11-04T17:19:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 seroprevalence_and_factors.pdf: 273577 bytes, checksum: 742e51b14ff9ef765bf31b52f3fc8f1a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Comunicação e Informação Científica e Tecnológica em Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Background: Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is the leading cause of genital ulcer disease in developing countries, including Brazil, and is especially prevalent among men who have sex with men (MSM). HSV-2 infection represents a risk factor for the acquisition and transmission of other sexually transmitted diseases. The goal of the present cross-sectional study was to estimate HSV- 2 seroprevalence and to determine the factors associated with HSV-2 seropositivity in HIVnegative high-risk MSM from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Methods: Stored sera were tested to estimate HSV-2 seroprevalence, while socio-demographic and sexual behavior data were used to measure associations between risk factors and HSV-2 seropositivity. Using the Poisson regression model with robust variance, prevalence ratios (PR) were used to estimate de degree of association between risk factors and HSV-2 seropositivity in bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results: Seroprevalence of HSV-2 was of 45.7% (184 out of 403). Factors independently associated with HSV-2 seroprevalence in the multivariate model were: older age (≥ 26 years, PR: 1.41 95% Confidence Interval: 1.11–1.78), non-white race (PR: 1.32 95%CI: 1.06–1.64), positive serology for syphilis (PR: 1.65 95%CI: 1.33–2.05), positive serology for hepatitis B (PR: 1.25 95%CI: 0.99–1.57), stable male partner in the past 6 months (PR: 1.42 95%CI: 1.12–1.79), and unprotected anal sex with a stable female partner (PR: 1.46 95%CI: 1.05–2.04) in the 6 months preceding the crosssectional assessment. Conclusion: The present study made evident a high prevalence of HSV-2 infection in a sample of HIV-negative high-risk MSM from Rio de Janeiro. This finding indicates the need and urgency for implementing integrated programs for the prevention of HSV-2 and other sexually transmitted diseases, and, in particular, programs targeting high-risk MSM

The program for biodiversity research in Brazil: The role of regional networks for biodiversity knowledge, dissemination, and conservation

The Program for Biodiversity Research (PPBio) is an innovative program designed to integrate all biodiversity research stakeholders. Operating since 2004, it has installed long-term ecological research sites throughout Brazil and its logic has been applied in some other southern-hemisphere countries. The program supports all aspects of research necessary to understand biodiversity and the processes that affect it. There are presently 161 sampling sites (see some of them at Supplementary Appendix), most of which use a standardized methodology that allows comparisons across biomes and through time. To date, there are about 1200 publications associated with PPBio that cover topics ranging from natural history to genetics and species distributions. Most of the field data and metadata are available through PPBio web sites or DataONE. Metadata is available for researchers that intend to explore the different faces of Brazilian biodiversity spatio-temporal variation, as well as for managers intending to improve conservation strategies. The Program also fostered, directly and indirectly, local technical capacity building, and supported the training of hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students. The main challenge is maintaining the long-term funding necessary to understand biodiversity patterns and processes under pressure from global environmental changes