3,434 research outputs found

    MPV17 Mutations Are Associated With a Quiescent Energetic Metabolic Profile

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    Funding: SJ was funded by Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. TO was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany’s Excellence Strategy - EXC 2067/1- 390729940). AR and TC-O were funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia and European Regional Development Fund (CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER000012- HealthyAging2020), (POCI-010145-FEDER-007440), and (POCI-01-145-FEDER-29297). MS and MG were funded by UID/NEU/04539/2019 (Strategic Plan CNC.IBILI).Mutations in the MPV17 gene are associated with hepatocerebral form of mitochondrial depletion syndrome. The mechanisms through which MPV17 mutations cause respiratory chain dysfunction and mtDNA depletion is still unclear. The MPV17 gene encodes an inner membrane mitochondrial protein that was recently described to function as a non-selective channel. Although its exact function is unknown, it is thought to be important in the maintenance of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm). To obtain more information about the role of MPV17 in human disease, we investigated the effect of MPV17 knockdown and of selected known MPV17 mutations associated with MPV17 disease in vitro. We used different approaches in order to evaluate the cellular consequences of MPV17 deficiency. We found that lower levels of MPV17 were associated with impaired mitochondrial respiration and with a quiescent energetic metabolic profile. All the mutations studied destabilized the protein, resulting in reduced protein levels. We also demonstrated that different mutations caused different cellular abnormalities, including increased ROS production, decreased oxygen consumption, loss of ΔΨm, and mislocalization of MPV17 protein. Our study provides novel insight into the molecular effects of MPV17 mutations and opens novel possibilities for testing therapeutic strategies for a devastating group of disorders.publishersversionpublishe

    Identification of two novel adenoviruses in smooth-billed ani and tropical screech owl

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    Avian adenoviruses (AdVs) are a very diverse group of pathogens causing diseases in poultry and wild birds. Wild birds, endangered by habitat loss and habitat fragmentation in the tropical forests, are recognised to play a role in the transmission of various AdVs. In this study, two novel, hitherto unknown AdVs were described from faecal samples of smooth-billed ani and tropical screech owl. The former was classified into genus Aviadenovirus, the latter into genus Atadenovirus, and both viruses most probably represent new AdV species as well. These results show that there is very limited information about the biodiversity of AdVs in tropical wild birds, though viruses might have a major effect on the population of their hosts or endanger even domesticated animals. Surveys like this provide new insights into the diversity, evolution, host variety, and distribution of avian AdVs

    Contribuição do estudo dos cabelos com microscopia de luz polarizada ao diagnóstico diferencial das síndromes de Chédiak-Higashi and Grisceli-Prunieras

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    PURPOSE: To study and compare the appearance of hairs from patients with Chédiak-Higashi and Griscelli-Prunieras syndromes under light and polarized light microscopy. METHOD: Hairs from 2 Chédiak-Higashi and 2 Griscelli-Prunieras patients were obtained and examined under normal and polarized light microscopy. RESULTS: Under light microscopy, hairs from Chédiak-Higashi patients presented evenly distributed, regular melanin granules, larger than those seen in normal hairs. Under polarized light microscopy, shafts exhibited a bright and polychromatic refringence appearance. In contrast, hair from Griscelli-Prunieras patients, under light microscopy, exhibited bigger and irregular melanin granules, distributed mainly near the medulla. Under polarized light microscopy, shafts appeared monotonously white. CONCLUSION: Light microscopic examination of hair shafts of patients with Chédiak-Higashi or Griscelli-Prunieras syndrome reveals subtle differences that are useful in identifying both disorders, but not in distinguishing between them. We provide evidence that polarized light microscopy of hair shafts, an approach that has not been previously described, aids in differentiating between these syndromes. We propose hair study by polarized light microscopy as a helpful complementary diagnostic method for differential diagnosis between CHS and GPS, especially when the more sophisticated molecular studies are not available.OBJETIVO: Estudar e comparar o aspecto dos cabelos de portadores das síndromes de Chédiak-Higashi e Griscelli-Prunieras, tanto na microscopia óptica convencional quanto com luz polarizada. MÉTODO: Cabelos de dois doentes portadores da síndrome de Chédiak-Higashi e de dois portadores da síndrome de Griscelli-Prunieras foram obtidos e estudados tanto à microscopia convencional quanto com luz polarizada. RESULTADOS: Na microscopia óptica convencional, os cabelos dos doentes portadores da síndrome de Chédiak-Higashi mostraram grânulos de melanina regulares, com distribuição homogênea e de maior tamanho em comparação aos presentes no cabelo normal. À microscopia de luz polarizada notou-se aspecto brilhante e refringência policromática. Diferentemente, os cabelos dos doentes portadores da síndrome de Griscelli-Prunieras apresentaram à microscopia convencional, grânulos de melanina irregulares e maiores do que os presentes no cabelo normal e os presentes nos cabelos dos doentes portadores da síndrome de Chédiak-Higashi, preferencialmente próximos à medula das hastes pilosas. À microscopia de luz polarizada apresentaram aspecto monotonamente esbranquiçado. CONCLUSÃO: O exame dos cabelos pela microscopia convencional nas síndromes de Chédiak-Higashi e Griscelli-Prunieras revela diferenças sutis no reconhecimento dessas doenças. No presente trabalho apresentamos evidência de que o exame das hastes pilosas com microscopia de luz polarizada - não descrito previamente - contribui na diferenciação de ambas doenças sugerindo que esse seja um método diagnóstico útil na distinção entre as síndromes de Chédiak-Higashi e Griscelli Prunieras, especialmente nos casos em que estudos moleculares mais sofisticados não estejam disponíveis

    FIRST REPORT ON OTOTOXICITY OF MEGLUMINE ANTIMONIATE

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    Pentavalent antimonials are the first drug of choice in the treatment of tegumentary leishmaniasis. Data on ototoxicity related with such drugs is scarcely available in literature, leading us to develop a study on cochleovestibular functions. Case Report: A case of a tegumentary leishmaniasis patient, a 78-year-old man who presented a substantial increase in auditory threshold with tinnitus and severe rotatory dizziness during the treatment with meglumine antimoniate, is reported. These symptoms worsened in two weeks after treatment was interrupted. Conclusion: Dizziness and tinnitus had already been related to meglumine antimoniate. However, this is the first well documented case of cochlear-vestibular toxicity related to meglumine antimoniate

    Haptoglobin gene subtypes in three Brazilian population groups of different ethnicities

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    Haptoglobin is a plasma hemoglobin-binding protein that limits iron loss during normal erythrocyte turnover and hemolysis, thereby preventing oxidative damage mediated by iron excess in the circulation. Haptoglobin polymorphism in humans, characterized by the Hp*1 and Hp*2 alleles, results in distinct phenotypes known as Hp1-1, Hp2-1 and Hp2-2, whose frequencies vary according to the ethnic origin of the population. The Hp*1 allele has two subtypes, Hp*1F and Hp*1S, that also vary in their frequencies among populations worldwide. In this work, we examined the distribution frequencies of haptoglobin subtypes in three Brazilian population groups of different ethnicities. The haptoglobin genotypes of Kayabi Amerindians (n = 56), Kalunga Afro-descendants (n = 70) and an urban population (n = 132) were determined by allele-specific PCR. The Hp*1F allele frequency was highest in Kalunga (29.3%) and lowest in Kayabi (2.6%). The Hp*1F/Hp*1S allele frequency ratios were 0.6, 1.0 and 0.26 for the Kayabi, Kalunga and urban populations, respectively. This variation was attributable largely to the Hp*1F allele. However, despite the large variation in Hp*1F frequencies, results of FST (0.0291) indicated slight genetic differentiation among subpopulations of the general Brazilian population studied here. This is the first Brazilian report of variations in the Hp *1F and Hp*1S frequencies among non-Amerindian Brazilians

    Identification of characterization of novel and rare variants of human hemoglobin

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    Hemoglobin structural abnormalities are among the most commonly found human genetic diseases. The Laboratory of Hemoglobinopathies in the Clinical Pathology Department of the Medical Sciences School of the State University in Campinas - Unicamp, São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil, carried out, in its 27 years of activity, about 130,000 diagnoses. As expected, hemoglobins S, C and D were the most frequently observed variants, but an expressive number of other abnormal, novel and rare hemoglobins, was also detected. These findings are summarized in the present article.As anormalidades estruturais da hemoglobina estão entre as doenças genéticas mais comumente encontradas nas populações humanas. O Laboratório de Hemoglobinopatias do Departamento de Patologia Clínica da Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Unicamp, localizado em Campinas, no estado de São Paulo, região Sudeste do Brasil, realizou, em seus 27 anos de existência, cerca de 130.000 diagnósticos. Entre as variantes estruturais detectadas, as hemoglobinas S, C e D-Punjab foram, como esperado, as mais freqüentes, porém um número expressivo de outras hemoglobinas anômalas, novas e raras, também foi encontrado. Esses achados estão sumarizados no presente artigo.316319Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES
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