Factors associated with neural alterations and physical disabilities in patients with leprosy in São Luis, State of Maranhão, Brazil

Introduction Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that is caused by Mycobacterium leprae. The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk factors that are associated with neural alterations and physical disabilities in leprosy patients at the time of diagnosis. Methods A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 155 leprosy patients who participated in a program that aimed to eliminate leprosy from São Luis, State of Maranhão. Results Patients who were 31-45 years of age, were older than 60 years of age or had a partner were more likely to have a disability. Patients with partners were 1.14 times more likely (p = 0.025) to have disabilities of the hands. The frequency of disabilities in the feet among the patients with different clinical forms of leprosy was statistically significant. Conclusions The identification of risk factors that are associated with neural alterations and physical disabilities in leprosy patients is important for diagnosing the disease because this approach enables physicians to plan and prioritize actions for the treatment and monitoring of patients

A transcriptomic analysis of gene expression in the venom gland of the snake Bothrops alternatus (urutu)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The genus <it>Bothrops </it>is widespread throughout Central and South America and is the principal cause of snakebite in these regions. Transcriptomic and proteomic studies have examined the venom composition of several species in this genus, but many others remain to be studied. In this work, we used a transcriptomic approach to examine the venom gland genes of <it>Bothrops alternatus</it>, a clinically important species found in southeastern and southern Brazil, Uruguay, northern Argentina and eastern Paraguay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A cDNA library of 5,350 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) was produced and assembled into 838 contigs and 4512 singletons. BLAST searches of relevant databases showed 30% hits and 70% no-hits, with toxin-related transcripts accounting for 23% and 78% of the total transcripts and hits, respectively. Gene ontology analysis identified non-toxin genes related to general metabolism, transcription and translation, processing and sorting, (polypeptide) degradation, structural functions and cell regulation. The major groups of toxin transcripts identified were metalloproteinases (81%), bradykinin-potentiating peptides/C-type natriuretic peptides (8.8%), phospholipases A₂(5.6%), serine proteinases (1.9%) and C-type lectins (1.5%). Metalloproteinases were almost exclusively type PIII proteins, with few type PII and no type PI proteins. Phospholipases A₂were essentially acidic; no basic PLA₂were detected. Minor toxin transcripts were related to L-amino acid oxidase, cysteine-rich secretory proteins, dipeptidylpeptidase IV, hyaluronidase, three-finger toxins and ohanin. Two non-toxic proteins, thioredoxin and double-specificity phosphatase Dusp6, showed high sequence identity to similar proteins from other snakes. In addition to the above features, single-nucleotide polymorphisms, microsatellites, transposable elements and inverted repeats that could contribute to toxin diversity were observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>Bothrops alternatus </it>venom gland contains the major toxin classes described for other <it>Bothrops </it>venoms based on trancriptomic and proteomic studies. The predominance of type PIII metalloproteinases agrees with the well-known hemorrhagic activity of this venom, whereas the lower content of serine proteases and C-type lectins could contribute to less marked coagulopathy following envenoming by this species. The lack of basic PLA₂agrees with the lower myotoxicity of this venom compared to other <it>Bothrops </it>species with these toxins. Together, these results contribute to our understanding of the physiopathology of envenoming by this species.</p

A Deep Insight into the Sialotranscriptome of the Gulf Coast Tick, Amblyomma maculatum

Background: Saliva of blood sucking arthropods contains compounds that antagonize their hosts ’ hemostasis, which include platelet aggregation, vasoconstriction and blood clotting; saliva of these organisms also has anti-inflammatory and immunomodullatory properties. Perhaps because hosts mount an active immune response against these compounds, the diversity of these compounds is large even among related blood sucking species. Because of these properties, saliva helps blood feeding as well as help the establishment of pathogens that can be transmitted during blood feeding. Methodology/Principal Findings: We have obtained 1,626,969 reads by pyrosequencing a salivary gland cDNA library from adult females Amblyomma maculatum ticks at different times of feeding. Assembly of this data produced 72,441 sequences larger than 149 nucleotides from which 15,914 coding sequences were extracted. Of these, 5,353 had.75 % coverage to their best match in the non-redundant database from the National Center for Biotechnology information, allowing for the deposition of 4,850 sequences to GenBank. The annotated data sets are available as hyperlinked spreadsheets. Putative secreted proteins were classified in 133 families, most of which have no known function. Conclusions/Significance: This data set of proteins constitutes a mining platform for novel pharmacologically activ