Hematological alterations during experimental canine infection by Trypanosoma cruzi

To confirm that Beagle dogs are a good experimental model for Chagas disease, we evaluated hematological alterations during the acute and chronic phases in Beagle dogs infected with the Y, Berenice-78 (Be-78) and ABC strains of Trypanosoma cruzi, correlating clinical signs with the parasitemia curve. We demonstrate that the acute phase of infection was marked by lethargy and loss of appetite. Simultaneously, we observed anemia, leukocytosis and lymphocytosis. Also,we describe hematological alterations and clinical signs that were positively correlated with the parasitemia during the experimental infection with the three strains of T cruzi, and demonstrate that experimental infection of Beagle is a trustworthy model for Chagas disease.Research Support Foundation of the State of Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)Research Support Foundation of the State of Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)National Research Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)National Research Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)Coordination Office for Advancement of Universitylevel Personnel (CAPES)Coordination Office for Advancement of University-level Personnel (CAPES

Role of Th17 lymphocytes during Leishmania infantum/chagasi infection

Leishmaniose visceral (LV) é uma doença crônica e potencialmente fatal causada pelas espécies Leishmania infantum/chagasi e Leishmania donovani. O desenvolvimento da resposta Th1 é classicamente associado à proteção contra esses parasitos, mas também há uma correlação positiva entre a produção de citocinas relacionadas com o padrão Th17 e a proteção contra LV por L. donovani em seres humanos. No entanto, a participação de Th17 durante a infecção por L. infantum/chagasi permanece desconhecida. O objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar a participação de Th17 e citocinas relacionadas, além do mecanismo pelo qual tais células operam durante a resposta imune do hospedeiro contra L. infantum/chagasi. Os resultados mostraram que o parasito é capaz de induzir grandes quantidades de TGF-, IL-1, IL-6 e IL-23 por células dendríticas derivadas da medula óssea (BMDC), citocinas envolvidas na indução e/ou manutenção do perfil Th17. Assim, co-cultivando células do baço de camundongos C57BL/6 naves com BMDCs infectadas com L. infantum/chagasi observou-se uma significativa produção de IL-17 por células T. Esses achados foram confirmados por experimentos in vivo onde se constatou a produção de IL-17 no fígado e no baço de camundongos WT infectados, sendo o pico de produção dessa citocina observado na 4ª e 6ª semanas após a infecção. O padrão de resposta do tipo Th17 é crítica para a imunidade protetora contra L. infantum/chagasi, uma vez que camudongos IL-17R-/-, IL-23p19-/- e IL-6-/- mostraram aumento da carga parasitária nos órgãos alvo da infecção, sendo que a susceptibilidade observada em camundongos IL-17R-/- foi associada com o aumento da produção de IL-10 por linfócitos, sugerindo que a IL-17 regula negativamente a produção de IL-10 levando ao controle da infecção causada pelo parasito. Ainda, a ausência da sinalização via IL-17R gerou uma diminuição da inflamação hepática, decorrente de uma menor capacidade proliferativa de linfócitos frente ao estímulo com conA. De maneira interessante, na ausência de IL-10 houve potencialização na produção de IL-17 por camundongos infectados, e esses foram mais resistentes à infecção, apresentando números reduzidos parasitos no baço e no fígado. Além de promover proteção através da modulação de IL-10, a IL-17 foi capaz de potencializar a produção de NO in vitro e in vivo. Juntos, nossos resultados demonstram que a L. infantum/chagasi é capaz de desencadear o padrão Th17 de resposta imune, o qual promove proteção do hospedeiro durante a infecção.Visceral leishmaniasis (LV) is a chronic and potentially fatal disease caused by Leishmania donovani and Leishmania infantum/chagasi. The development of Th1 response is classically associated with protection against these parasites, but recent data also show that there is a positive correlation between the Th17-related cytokines production and the protection against LV by L. donovani in humans. However, the role of this CD4+ T cells subset during L. infantum/chagasi infection remains unknown. In this study, our aim was to evaluate the Th17 and related cytokines participation, besides the mechanism by which these cells playing during the L. infantum/chagasi infection.The results showed that the parasite induces high amounts of TGF-, IL-1, IL-6, and IL-23 by bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDC), cytokines involved with Th17 induction and/or maintenance. Accordingly, naïve-C57BL/6 spleenocytes co-cultured with L. infantum/chagasi-infected BMDC produced significant amounts of IL-17 by TCD4+. Interestingly, IL-17 was produced in high amounts in the liver and spleen of WT infected-mice, being peaked at 4th and 6th weeks after infection. The Th17 is critical for protective immunity against L. infantum/chagasi, since that IL-17R-/-, IL-23p19-/- and IL-6-/- infected-mice showed increasing of parasite load associated with enhancement of IL-10 production in IL-17R-/- compared to WT infected-mice. Strictly, in the absence of IL-17 signaling, a smaller inflammatory infiltrate was observed in the liver. Interestingly, IL-17 production was potentiated in IL-10-/- infected-mice, and they were more resistant to infection, showing reduced parasites numbers in the spleen and liver. In addition to promoting protection through the downmodulation of IL-10, IL-17 enhanced the NO production. Together, our results demonstrate that L. infantum/chagasi trigger Th17 response that promotes the host protection during infection

NOD2-RIP2-mediated signaling contributes to shape adaptive immunity in visceral leishmaniasis

Células produtoras de IFN-? e IL-17A são envolvidas na proteção contra infecção por Leishmania infantum (L. infantum). Ainda não está claro como o sistema imune coordena, ou o parasito manipula, o balanço entre Th1 e Th17 durante a leishmaniose visceral (LV). Utilizando RNAseq, PCR array e citometria de fluxo, nós demonstramos que, enquanto o padrão Th1 é altamente induzido, o perfil Th17 é inibido durante a infecção por L. infantum, e que as células B compõem uma fonte importante de IL-17A nesse modelo. Usando animais Nod2-/- e Rip2-/- nós caracterizamos essa via como um regulador negativo de células Th17 na LV. Por outro lado, a potente indução de Th1 foi dependente da sinalização via NOD2-RIP2 em células dendríticas CD8??+XCR1+, o que foi crucial para produção de IL-12 através da fosforilação de p38 e JNK. Como consequência, camundongos Nod2-/- e Rip2-/- tiveram defeito na resposta Th1, aumento de Th17, e maiores cargas parasitárias comparado com camundongos WT. Juntos, os dados mostram que a via de NOD2-RIP2 desempenha um papel importante na modulação da resposta imune adaptativa e promove proteção contra LV causada por L. infantumIFN-? and IL-17A-producing cells are described to be related to protection against Leishmania infantum (L. infantum) infection. How the immune system coordinates, or the parasite manipulates, the balance between Th1 and Th17 during visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is still unknown. We showed here that Th17 is suppressed during L. infantum infection and B cells are an important source of IL-17A in this model. By using Nod2-/- and Rip2-/- mice we characterized this pathway as a negative regulator for Th17 cells in VL. On the other hand, the high level of Th1 induction was dependent on the NOD2-RIP2 signaling in CD8?+XCR1+ dendritic cells (DCs), which was crucial for IL-12 production through the phosphorylation of p38 and JNK. As a consequence, Nod2-/- and Rip2-/- mice showed a Th1 defective response, more Th17, and higher parasite loads compared to WT mice. Together, the data demonstrate that NOD2-RIP2 signaling pathway plays a role in shaping adaptive immunity and promotes protection against VL caused by L. infantu

Antiparasitical chemotherapy in Chagas' disease cardiomyopathy: current evidence

Chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy affects 20% of Chagas disease patients. At present, Chagas disease chemotherapy uses nitrofurans, benznidazole (Rochagan (R), Rodanil (R), Roche) or nifurtimox (Lampit (R), Bayer). Treatment during acute and recent chronic phases in childhood effects 71.5% and 57.6%, respectively, of parasitological cure. However, in clinical trials during the late chronic phase, only 5.9% of parasitological cure were achieved. This review focuses on the benefit from aetiological treatment to avoid, stop or revert myocarditis. Divergent data gathered from clinical practice are not convincing to support prescription of aetiological treatment as routine for indeterminate and cardiac chronic patients

Low CCL2 and CXCL8 Production and High Prevalence of Allergies in Children with Microcephaly Due to Congenital Zika Syndrome

Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) is associated with an increased risk of microcephaly in affected children. This study investigated the peripheral dysregulation of immune mediators in children with microcephaly due to CZS. Gene expression quantified by qPCR in whole blood samples showed an increase in IFNγ and IL-13 transcripts in children affected with microcephaly compared to the control group. The microcephaly group exhibited significantly decreased CCL2 and CXCL8 levels in serum, quantified by CBA assay. An allergic profile questionnaire revealed a high prevalence of allergies in the microcephaly group. In accordance, elevated serum IgE level measured by the Proquantum Immunoassay was observed in children affected with microcephaly compared to the control group. Altogether, these findings show a persistent systemic inflammation in children with microcephaly due to CZS and suggest a possible impairment in leukocyte migration caused by low production of CCL2 and CXCL8, in addition to high levels of IgE associated with high prevalence of allergies. The dysregulation of inflammatory genes and chemokines underscores the importance of understanding the immunological characteristics of CZS. Further investigation into the long-term consequences of systemic inflammation in these children is crucial for developing appropriate therapeutic strategies and tailored vaccination protocols

Innate immune receptors over expression correlate with chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy and digestive damage in patients.

Chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy (CCC) is observed in 30% to 50% of the individuals infected by Trypanosoma cruzi and heart failure is the important cause of death among patients in the chronic phase of Chagas disease. Although some studies have elucidated the role of adaptive immune responses involving T and B lymphocytes in cardiac pathogenesis, the role of innate immunity receptors such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and Nod-like receptors (NLRs) in CCC pathophysiology has not yet been determined. In this study, we evaluated the association among innate immune receptors (TLR1-9 and nucleotide-binding domain-like receptor protein 3/NLRP3), its adapter molecules (Myd88, TRIF, ASC and caspase-1) and cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, IL-18, IL-23, TNF-α, and IFN-β) with clinical manifestation, digestive and cardiac function in patients with different clinical forms of chronic Chagas disease. The TLR8 mRNA expression levels were enhanced in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from digestive and cardiodigestive patients compared to indeterminate and cardiac patients. Furthermore, mRNA expression of IFN-β (cytokine produced after TLR8 activation) was higher in digestive and cardiodigestive patients when compared to indeterminate. Moreover, there was a positive correlation between TLR8 and IFN-β mRNA expression with sigmoid and rectum size. Cardiac and cardiodigestive patients presented higher TLR2, IL-12 and TNF-α mRNA expression than indeterminate and digestive patients. Moreover, cardiac patients also expressed higher levels of NLRP3, ASC and IL-1β mRNAs than indeterminate patients. In addition, we showed a negative correlation among TLR2, IL-1β, IL-12 and TNF-α levels with left ventricular ejection fraction, and positive correlation between NLRP3 with cardiothoracic index, and TLR2, IL-1β and IL-12 with left ventricular mass index. Together, our data suggest that high expression of innate immune receptors in cardiac and digestive patients may induce an enhancement of cytokine expression and participate of cardiac and digestive dysfunction

Innate immune receptors over expression correlate with chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy and digestive damage in patients

Submitted by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2019-01-30T10:27:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 adelaideV_Motta_etal_IOC_2018.pdf: 4348852 bytes, checksum: 2a6663ea033f9812085adebf92dec5ce (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2019-01-30T10:46:20Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 adelaideV_Motta_etal_IOC_2018.pdf: 4348852 bytes, checksum: 2a6663ea033f9812085adebf92dec5ce (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2019-01-30T10:46:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 adelaideV_Motta_etal_IOC_2018.pdf: 4348852 bytes, checksum: 2a6663ea033f9812085adebf92dec5ce (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Departamento de Parasitologia. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil / Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia. Natal, RN, Brasil / Universidade Potiguar. Escola de Saúde. Natal, RN, Brasil.Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia. Natal, RN, Brasil.Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Departamento de Parasitologia. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte. Departamento de Ciências Biomédicas. Mossoró, RN, Brasil.Instituto Internacional de Neurociências Edmond e Lilly Safra. Macaíba, RN, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Ultraestrutura Celular. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas. Natal, RN, Brasil.Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Departamento de Parasitologia. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia. Natal, RN, Brasil.Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Departamento de Parasitologia. Belo Horizonte, MG, BrasilChronic chagasic cardiomyopathy (CCC) is observed in 30% to 50% of the individuals infected by Trypanosoma cruzi and heart failure is the important cause of death among patients in the chronic phase of Chagas disease. Although some studies have elucidated the role of adaptive immune responses involving T and B lymphocytes in cardiac pathogenesis, the role of innate immunity receptors such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and Nod-like receptors (NLRs) in CCC pathophysiology has not yet been determined. In this study, we evaluated the association among innate immune receptors (TLR1-9 and nucleotide-binding domain-like receptor protein 3/NLRP3), its adapter molecules (Myd88, TRIF, ASC and caspase- 1) and cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, IL-18, IL-23, TNF-α, and IFN-β) with clinical manifestation, digestive and cardiac function in patients with different clinical forms of chronic Chagas disease. The TLR8 mRNA expression levels were enhanced in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from digestive and cardiodigestive patients compared to indeterminate and cardiac patients. Furthermore, mRNA expression of IFN-β (cytokine produced after TLR8 activation) was higher in digestive and cardiodigestive patients when compared to indeterminate. Moreover, there was a positive correlation between TLR8 and IFN-β mRNA expression with sigmoid and rectum size. Cardiac and cardiodigestive patients presented higher TLR2, IL-12 and TNF-α mRNA expression than indeterminate and digestive patients. Moreover, cardiac patients also expressed higher levels of NLRP3, ASC and IL-1β mRNAs than indeterminate patients. In addition, we showed a negative correlation among TLR2, IL-1β, IL-12 and TNF-α levels with left ventricular ejection fraction, and positive correlation between NLRP3 with cardiothoracic index, and TLR2, IL-1β and IL-12 with left ventricular mass index. Together, our data suggest that high expression of innate immune.receptors in cardiac and digestive patients may induce an enhancement of cytokine expression and participate of cardiac and digestive dysfunction

Inflammation Enhances the Risks of Stroke and Death in Chronic Chagas Disease Patients

Submitted by sandra infurna ([email protected]) on 2016-06-19T18:59:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 mariaadelaide_matta_etal_IOC_2016.pdf: 749988 bytes, checksum: 989d8777a371bcd276efecde9a5d4214 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by sandra infurna ([email protected]) on 2016-06-19T19:21:52Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 mariaadelaide_matta_etal_IOC_2016.pdf: 749988 bytes, checksum: 989d8777a371bcd276efecde9a5d4214 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-19T19:21:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 mariaadelaide_matta_etal_IOC_2016.pdf: 749988 bytes, checksum: 989d8777a371bcd276efecde9a5d4214 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-08T12:21:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 mariaadelaide_matta_etal_IOC_2016.pdf.txt: 58546 bytes, checksum: d1a8f1e931ab9591fce414aa980fdaa1 (MD5) mariaadelaide_matta_etal_IOC_2016.pdf: 749988 bytes, checksum: 989d8777a371bcd276efecde9a5d4214 (MD5) license.txt: 2991 bytes, checksum: 5a560609d32a3863062d77ff32785d58 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasiologia. Natal, RN, BrasilUniversidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte. Departamento de Ciências Biomédicas. Mossoró, RN, Brasil.Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Departamento de Parasitologia. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasiologia. Natal, RN, Brasil / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Departamento de Parasitologia. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasiologia. Natal, RN, BrasilUniversidade Federal de Ouro Preto. Escola de Medicina. Ouro Preto, MG, Brasil.Univrsidade de São Paulo. Escola de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto. Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório deUltraestrutura Celular. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. Departmaneto de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas. Natal, RN, Brasil.Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Departamento de Parasitologia. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.Ischemic strokes have been implicated as a cause of death in Chagas disease patients. Inflammation has been recognized as a key component in all ischemic processes, including the intravascular events triggered by vessel interruption, brain damage and repair. In this study, we evaluated the association between inflammatory markers and the death risk (DR) and stroke risk (SR) of patients with different clinical forms of chronic Chagas disease. The mRNA expression levels of cytokines, transcription factors expressed in the adaptive immune response (Th1, Th2, Th9, Th17, Th22 and regulatory T cell), and iNOS were analyzed by realtime PCR in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of chagasic patients who exhibited the indeterminate, cardiac, digestive and cardiodigestive clinical forms of the disease, and the levels of these transcripts were correlated with the DR and SR. Cardiac patients exhibited lowermRNA expression levels of GATA-3, FoxP3, AHR, IL-4, IL-9, IL-10 and IL-22 but exhibited higher expression of IFN-γ and TNF-α compared with indeterminate patients. Digestive patients showed similar levels of GATA-3, IL-4 and IL-10 than indeterminate patients. Cardiodigestive patients exhibited higher levels of TNF-α compared with indeterminate and digestive patients. Furthermore, we demonstrated that patients with high DR and SR exhibited lower GATA-3, FoxP3, and IL-10 expression and higher IFN-γ, TNF-α and iNOS mRNA expression than patients with low DR and SR. A negative correlation was observed between Foxp3 and IL-10 mRNA expression and the DR and SR. Moreover, TNF-α and iNOS expression was positively correlated with DR and SR. Our data suggest that an inflammatory imbalance in chronic Chagas disease patients is associated with a high DR and SR. This study provides a better understanding of the stroke pathobiology in the general population and might aid the development of therapeutic strategies for controlling the morbidity and mortality of Chagas disease

Naturally Leishmania infantum-infected dogs display an overall impairment of chemokine and chemokine receptor expression during visceral leishmaniasis.

Dogs are the primary reservoir for Leishmania parasites. The immune response induced by Leishmania infantum infection in these animals has not been completely elucidated, and few studies have investigated the relationship between the expression levels of chemokines and chemokine receptors and the clinical status of dogs with canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL). The aim of this study was to correlate the clinical status of naturally L. infantuminfected dogs (from rural areas of Mossoró city, State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil) with the expression levels of chemokines (ccl1, ccl2, ccl3, ccl4, ccl5, ccl17, ccl20, ccl24, ccl26, cxcl9, cxcl10) and chemokine receptors (cxcr3, ccr3, ccr4, ccr5, ccr6, ccr8) in the liver and spleen determined using real-time PCR. Twenty-one dogs were clinically evaluated and classified as asymptomatic (n = 11) or symptomatic (n = 10). Splenomegaly, weight loss and onychogryphosis were the most pronounced symptoms. In the liver, the mRNA expression levels of ccl1, ccl17, ccl26, ccr3, ccr4, ccr5, ccr6, and ccr8 were lower in symptomatic animals than in asymptomatic animals. Compared with uninfected animals, symptomatic dogs had lower expression levels of almost all molecules analyzed. Moreover, high clinical scores were negatively correlated with ccr5 and ccr6 expression and positively correlated with cxcl10 expression. We conclude that the impairment of the expression of chemokines and chemokine receptors results in deficient leukocyte migration and hampers the immune response, leading to the development of disease

High NLRP3 expression is correlated with high cardiothoracic index (CI).

<p>The mRNA expression levels of NLRP3 (A), TLR2 (B), IL-1β (C) and IL-12 (D) were determined by real-time PCR in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with the indeterminate (n = 18), cardiac (n = 17), digestive (n = 15) and cardiodigestive (n = 15) clinical forms of Chagas disease and correlated with cardiothoracic index (CI). The expression levels were normalized to the expression level of β-actin. Spearman test was used.</p