ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ

Avaliação da expressão de seis possíveis fatores de virulência de C. pseudotuberculosis em macrófagos murinos

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis é uma bacilo Gram-positivo causador da linfadenite caseosa em caprinos e ovinos. Dentre os seus possíveis fatores de virulência estão as proteínas pld (Fosfolipase D), cpp (Serina-protease CP40), nanH (Neuraminidase H), sodC (Superóxido Dismutase C), spaC (Adesina SpaC) e pknG (Proteína cinase G). Objetivo: este estudo buscou verificar, com a técnica qRT-PCR, se existe transcrição destes genes em macrófagos de duas linhagens de camundongos infectados in vitro com uma cepa viruleta C. pseudotuberculosis (CP1002). Paralelamente, também foi estudada a expressão dos genes pld, cpp, nanH, sodC e spaC nestas mesmas células. Método: extraiu-se o RNA total de macrófagos de camundongos C57BL/6 e Balb/c e sintetizou-se o DNA complementar ao RNA extraído. A detecção de RNA mensageiro de PknG, Pld, CP40, NanH, SodC e SpaC foi realizada por PCR quantitativa. Resultados: houve expressão dos seis genes nos macrófagos de camundongos das linhagens Balb/c e C57BL/6 infectados in vitro, nos três intervalos de tempo examinados (1, 12 e 24 horas após a infecção). A intensidade de transcrição dos genes pknG, pld, cpp, nanH, sodC e spaC uma hora após a infecção aparenta ser maior do que nos intervalos posteriores, tanto em macrófagos de Balb/c como em macrófagos de C57BL/6, embora nos primeiros todos os genes mostrem uma intensidade de transcrição supostamente mais acentuada neste intervalo. O gene pknG aparenta uma magnitude de transcrição mais intensa do que os demais, em ambos os tipos de animais. Conclusão: os genes pknG, pld, cpp, nanH, sodC e spaC são transcritos em macrófagos de Balb/c e de C57BL/6, expressando-se aparentemente de modo mais acentuado na primeira hora após a infecção em ambos os tipos de células. Todos os genes parecem exibir transcrição mais intensa em macrófagos dos animais da linhagem Balb/c

In vivo and in vitro expression of five genes involved in Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis virulence

Abstract Caseous lymphadenitis (LC) is a chronic contagious disease caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, which mainly affects goats and sheep. Vaccination is an effective but not yet well-established method, partly due to a lack of knowledge surrounding the most effective immunoprotective components. The present study aimed to quantify and compare the in vivo expression of genes pld (phospholipase D), cpp (CP40), nanH (neuraminidase H), sodC (superoxide dismutase C) and spaC (adhesin) using qRT-PCR, with the respective expression in vitro. Caseous material of abscesses removed from five animals was cultured, with colonies suggestive of C. pseudotuberculosis identified. RNA extraction was performed on these samples, as well as on the respective pellets derived from liquid cultures brain heart infusion. After evaluating RNA integrity, complementary DNA was synthesized, followed by the relative quantification each of the genes of interest. Mean mRNA expression of the five genes found in abscesses and in cultures differed significantly, with respective values of: nanH 811.50 ± 198.27 and 359.35 ± 75.45 (p = 0.009); cpp 856.31 ± 385.11 and 154.54 ± 94.34 (p = 0.0039); plD 922.70 ± 450.73 and 212.41 ± 153.10 (p = 0.016); sodC 1,293.53 ± 564.75 and 223.63 ± 145.58 (p = 0.016); spaC 1,157.10 ± 525.13 and 214.26 ± 125.70 (p = 0,016). Expression was observed to be 6–8 times higher in abscesses than in cultures, Indicative that is a genetic expression of the in vitro bacterium exists, yet in vivo has a greater magnitude corroborating to one of these virulence factors in the pathogenesis of LC

Plasma lipidome profiling of newborns with antenatal exposure to Zika virus.

The 2015-2016 Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in Brazil was remarkably linked to the incidence of microcephaly and other deleterious clinical manifestations, including eye abnormalities, in newborns. It is known that ZIKV targets the placenta, triggering an inflammatory profile that may cause placental insufficiency. Transplacental lipid transport is delicately regulated during pregnancy and deficiency on the delivery of lipids such as arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids may lead to deficits in both brain and retina during fetal development. Here, plasma lipidome profiles of ZIKV exposed microcephalic and normocephalic newborns were compared to non-infected controls. Our results reveal major alterations in circulating lipids from both ZIKV exposed newborns with and without microcephaly relative to controls. In newborns with microcephaly, the plasma concentrations of hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (HODE), primarily as 13-HODE isomer, derived from linoleic acid were higher as compared to normocephalic ZIKV exposed newborns and controls. Total HODE concentrations were also positively associated with levels of other oxidized lipids and several circulating free fatty acids in newborns, indicating a possible plasma lipidome signature of microcephaly. Moreover, higher concentrations of lysophosphatidylcholine in ZIKV exposed normocephalic newborns relative to controls suggest a potential disruption of polyunsaturated fatty acids transport across the blood-brain barrier of fetuses. The latter data is particularly important given the neurocognitive and neurodevelopmental abnormalities observed in follow-up studies involving children with antenatal ZIKV exposure, but normocephalic at birth. Taken together, our data reveal that plasma lipidome alterations associated with antenatal exposure to ZIKV could contribute to identification and monitoring of the wide spectrum of clinical phenotypes at birth and further, during childhood

Transplantation of Adipose Tissue Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Experimental Chronic Chagasic Cardiopathy

BACKGROUND: Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is a major cause of heart failure in Latin America. Tissue therapy has been investigated as a possible therapeutic option for patients with cardiovascular disease. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effects of therapy with mesenchymal stem cells in an experimental model of chronic Chagasic cardiomyopathy. METHODS: C57BL/6 mice were infected with 1000 trypomastigotes from the Colombian strain of T. cruzi and, after six months of infection, were treated with mesenchymal human stem cells from adipose tissue (STAT) or with Dulbecco/Vogt modified Eagle's minimal essential medium - DMEM (control). The treated group received two intraperitoneal injections of STAT (1x10(6) cells/dose), with a month interval between the two doses. Before and after the first and second months of treatment, the chagasic and normal control animals underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing and electrocardiography. All animals were sacrificed under anesthesia after two months of treatment for histopathological analysis of the heart. RESULTS: No improvement was observed in arrhythmias and cardiovascular function in the group of animals treated with STAT; however, sections of mice hearts in this group revealed a significant reduction in the number of inflammatory cells (p<0.0001) and areas of fibrosis (p<0.01) in comparison with chagasic animals treated with DMEM. CONCLUSION: Thus, it is concluded that administration of intraperitoneal STAT can reduce inflammation and fibrosis in the heart of mice chronically infected with T. cruzi; however, there were no effects on the cardiac function two months after transplantation

Pesquisa de anticorpos anti-"Brucella canis" em cães provenientes da região metropolitana de salvador

A brucelose canina por Brucella canis é uma doença infecto-contagiosa caracterizada principalmente por abortamentos e esterilidade nas fêmeas bem como orquite e epididimite nos machos. Além da grande importância econômica para criadores de cães, o caráter zoonótico da brucelose canina também deve ser considerado em virtude da complexa relação da população canina com os seres humanos. Deste modo, com o objetivo de pesquisar anticorpos anti Brucella canis em cães residentes na região metropolitana de Salvador, foram avaliadas 85 amostras de soro sanguíneo de cães domiciliados, machos e fêmeas, de idade e raças variadas através da técnica de imunodifusão em gel de agarose, com antígeno de membrana de Brucella ovis desenvolvido pelo Centro de Pesquisa Veterinária Desidério Finamor-RS (CPVDF). Os resultados encontrados indicaram uma soropositividade de 5,88% (5/85), demonstrando a presença de anticorpos anti-Brucella canis em cães residentes na região metropolitana de Salvador salientando a importância de maiores estudos desta zoonose

Administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor induces immunomodulation, recruitment of T regulatory cells, reduction of myocarditis and decrease of parasite load in a mouse model of chronic Chagas disease cardiomyopathy.

Submitted by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio ([email protected]) on 2014-10-09T18:21:16Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Vasconcelos JF Administration....pdf: 1028504 bytes, checksum: cf15c623e7c8b011509bf0ed3eb8c71b (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio ([email protected]) on 2014-10-09T18:21:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Vasconcelos JF Administration....pdf: 1028504 bytes, checksum: cf15c623e7c8b011509bf0ed3eb8c71b (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T18:48:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vasconcelos JF Administration....pdf: 1028504 bytes, checksum: cf15c623e7c8b011509bf0ed3eb8c71b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Hospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, BrasilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Hospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, BrasilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilHospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, BrasilHospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz. Ilhéus, BA, BrasilHospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, BrasilHospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, BrasilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Hospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Universidade Federal da Bahia. Salvador, BA, Brasilospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, BrasilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Hospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, BrasilChagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi infection, is a leading cause of heart failure in Latin American countries. In a previous study, we showed beneficial effects of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) administration in the heart function of mice with chronic T. cruzi infection. Presently, we investigated the mechanisms by which this cytokine exerts its beneficial effects. Mice chronically infected with T. cruzi were treated with human recombinant G-CSF (3 courses of 200 µg/kg/d for 5 d). Inflammation and fibrosis were reduced in the hearts of G-CSF-treated mice, compared with the hearts of vehicle-treated mice, which correlated with decreased syndecan-4, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and galectin-3 expressions. Marked reductions in interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α and increased interleukin-10 and transforming growth factor-ß were found after G-CSF administration. Because the therapy did not induce a Th1 to Th2 immune response deviation, we investigated the role of regulatory T (Treg) cells. A significant increase in CD3(+)Foxp3(+) cells was observed in the hearts of G-CSF-treated mice. In addition, a reduction of parasitism was observed after G-CSF treatment. Our results indicate a role of Treg cells in the immunosuppression induced by G-CSF treatment and reinforces its potential therapeutic use for patients with Chagas diseas

Therapy with mesenchymal stromal cells or conditioned medium reverse cardiac alterations in a high-fat diet-induced obesity model

Submitted by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio ([email protected]) on 2018-03-06T13:02:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Daltro PS Therapy with mesenchymal stromal....pdf: 2220259 bytes, checksum: 0d8b877260e733ab651cf93ee12e0276 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio ([email protected]) on 2018-03-06T13:39:29Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Daltro PS Therapy with mesenchymal stromal....pdf: 2220259 bytes, checksum: 0d8b877260e733ab651cf93ee12e0276 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-06T13:39:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Daltro PS Therapy with mesenchymal stromal....pdf: 2220259 bytes, checksum: 0d8b877260e733ab651cf93ee12e0276 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia (FAPESB) and Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP).Hospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Federal University of Bahia. Multicentric Program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Salvador, BA, BrazilHospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Federal University of Bahia. Faculty of Biology. Salvador, BA, BrazilUniversidade Federal da Bahia. Faculdade de Medicina. Salvador, BA, BrasilUniversidade Federal da Bahia. Faculdade de Medicina. Salvador, BA, BrasilUniversidade Federal da Bahia. Faculdade de Medicina. Salvador, BA, BrasilUniversidade Federal da Bahia. Faculdade de Medicina. Salvador, BA, BrasilHospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, BrasilHospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, BrasilHospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, BrasilHospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, BrasilUniversidade Federal da Bahia. Faculdade de Medicina. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilFederal University of Bahia. Faculty of Pharmacy. Salvador, BA, BrazilHospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, Brasil / National Institute of Science andTechnology for Regenerative Medicine. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BrazilHospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil / National Institute of Science andTechnology for Regenerative Medicine. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BrazilHospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil / National Institute of Science andTechnology for Regenerative Medicine. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BrazilHospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil / National Institute of Science andTechnology for Regenerative Medicine. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil / Federal University of Bahia. Institute of Health Sciences. Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Salvador, BA, BrazilObesity is associated with numerous cardiac complications, including arrhythmias, cardiac fibrosis, remodeling and heart failure. Here we evaluated the therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and their conditioned medium (CM) to treat cardiac complications in a mouse model of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity.Methods. After obesity induction and HFD withdrawal, obese mice were treated with MSCs, CM or vehicle. Cardiac function was assessed using electrocardiography, echocardiography and treadmill test. Body weight and biochemical parameters were evaluated. Cardiac tissue was used for real time (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and histopathologic analysis. Results/ Discussion. Characterization of CM by protein array showed the presence of different cytokines and growth factors, including chemokines, osteopontin, cystatin C, Serpin E1 and Gas 6. HFD-fed mice presented cardiac arrhythmias, altered cardiac gene expression and fibrosis reflected in physical exercise incapacity associated with obesity and diabetes. Administration of MSCs or CM improved arrhythmias and exercise capacity. This functional improvement correlated with normalization of GATA4 gene expression in the hearts of MSC- or CM-treated mice. The gene expression of connexin 43, troponin I, adiponectin, transforming growth factor (TGF) β, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP1) were significantly reduced in MSCs, but not in CM-treated mice. Moreover, MSC or CM administration reduced the intensity of cardiac fibrosis. Conclusion. Our results suggest that MSCs and CM have a recovery effect on cardiac disturbances due to obesity and corroborate to the paracrine action of MSCs in heart disease models