Cytokines and chemokines production by mononuclear cells from parturient women after stimulation with live Toxoplasma gondii

AbstractToxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that can cause variable clinical symptoms or can even be asymptomatic in immunocompetent individuals. More severe symptoms are observed in immunocompromised patients and congenital transmission of the parasite has been reported. The objective of this study was to evaluate the response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in parturient and non-pregnant women exposed to live tachyzoites of T. gondii strain RH or ME49. PBMC were isolated from parturient and non-pregnant women with negative or positive serology for toxoplasmosis and cultured with live tachyzoites of the two T. gondii strains for 24 h. Next, the cell culture supernatants were collected and levels of CCL2, CCL5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, and TNF-α produced by PBMC after tachyzoite exposure were measured. Live tachyzoite forms of T. gondii significantly inhibited the synthesis of CCL2 in seropositive parturient women, whereas a stimulatory effect on CCL5 was observed in seronegative parturient women. Cells from T. gondii-seronegative non-pregnant women produced significantly higher levels of TNF-α and IL-12, demonstrating the proinflammatory profile induced by the presence of the parasite in culture. The results suggest that the immunomodulation seen during pregnancy contributes to the development of an environment that facilitates escape of the parasite from the immune response

Evaluation of the multispecies coalescent method to explore intra-Trypanosoma cruzi i relationships and genetic diversity

Chagas Disease is a zoonosis caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Several high-resolution markers have subdivided T. cruzi taxon into at least seven lineages or Discrete Typing Units (DTUs) (TcI-TcVI and TcBat). Trypanosoma cruzi I is the most diverse and geographically widespread DTU. Recently a TcI genotype related to domestic cycles was proposed and named as TcIDOM. Herein, we combined traditional markers and housekeeping genes and applied a Multispecies Coalescent method to explore intra-TcI relationships, lineage boundaries and genetic diversity in a random set of isolates and DNA sequences retrieved from Genbank from different countries in the Americas. We found further evidence supporting TcIDOM as an independent and emerging genotype of TcI at least in Colombia and Venezuela. We also found evidence of high phylogenetic incongruence between parasite's gene trees (including introgression) and embedded species trees, and a lack of genetic structure among geography and hosts, illustrating the complex dynamics and epidemiology of TcI across the Americas. These findings provide novel insights into T. cruzi systematics and epidemiology and support the need to assess parasite diversity and lineage boundaries through hypothesis testing using different approaches to those traditionally employed, including the Bayesian Multispecies coalescent method. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

Leishmania infection in bats from a non-endemic region of Leishmaniasis in Brazil

Leishmaniasis is a complex of zoonotic diseases caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania, which can develop in domestic as well as wild animals and humans throughout the world. Currently, this disease is spreading in rural and urban areas of non-endemic regions in Brazil. Recently, bats have gained epidemiological significance in leishmaniasis due to its close relationship with human settlements. In this study, we investigated the presence of Leishmania spp. DNA in blood samples from 448 bats belonging to four families representing 20 species that were captured in the Triangulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaiba areas of Minas Gerais State (non-endemic areas for leishmaniasis), Brazil. Leishmania spp. DNA was detected in 8.0% of the blood samples, 41.6% of which were Leishmania infantum, 38.9% Leishmania amazonensis and 19.4% Leishmania braziliensis. No positive correlation was found between Leishmania spp. and bat food source. The species with more infection rates were the insectivorous bats Eumops perotis; 22.2% (4/18) of which tested positive for Leishmania DNA. The presence of Leishmania in the bat blood samples, as observed in this study, represents epidemiological importance due to the absence of Leishmaniasis cases in the region. © Cambridge University Press 2017

The association between cardiovascular risk factors and major cardiovascular diseases decreases with increasing frailty levels in geriatric outpatients

BACKGROUND: Frailty marks a process of increasing dysregulation of physiological systems which increases the risk of adverse health outcomes. This study examines the hypothesis that the association between multiple cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) becomes stronger with increasing frailty severity. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of 339 older adults (55.2% women; aged 75.2 ± 9.1 years) from an outpatient geriatric clinic from a middle-income country. The frailty index (FI) was calculated as the proportion of 30 possible health deficits. We assessed hypertension, diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia, sedentarism and smoking as CVRF (determinants) and myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure as CVD. Poisson regression models adjusted for age, sex, and education was applied to estimate the association between frailty as well as CVRF (independent variables) with CVD (dependent variable). RESULTS: Of the 339 patients, 18,3% were frail (FI ≥ 0.25) and 32.7% had at least one CVD. Both frailty and CVRF were significantly associated with CVD (PR = 1.03, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.05; p = 0.001, and PR = 1.46, 95% 1.24 to 1.71; p < 0.001, respectively) adjusted for covariates. The strength of the association between CVRF and CVD decreased with increasing frailty levels, as indicated by a significant interaction term of frailty and CVRF (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Frailty and CVRF are both associated with CVD, but the impact of CVRF decreases in the presence of frailty. When confirmed in longitudinal studies, randomized controlled trials or causal inference methods like Mendelian randomization should be applied to assess whether a shift from traditional CVRF to frailty would improve cardiovascular outcome in the oldest old

Cold coffee seeds storage with different water content.

Coffee seeds are classified as intermediate because they have low tolerance to desiccation and low longevity. Consequently, moisture control and storage conditions are important factors in maintaining the physiological quality of these seeds. Thus, the objective in this work was to evaluate the water content effect on coffee seed longevity. Seeds of five Coffea arabica cultivars from the 2016/2017 crop were used. Part of the harvested seeds was dried in the shade until reach 12% moisture and the other part did not go through drying process, remaining with 40% water content. The seeds were stored in a cold chamber at 10 oC for a period of nine months, and the physiological quality was evaluated every three months by germination, root protrusion, seedlings with expanded cotyledonary leaves, seedling dry mass and enzymatic analysis of catalase enzymes and superoxide dismutase. Regardless of the cultivar, wet seeds coffee storage provides better maintenance of physiological quality for up to nine months. Seedling vigor is reduced throughout the storage period, regardless of seed water content

Elevated Risk for HIV-1 Infection in Adolescents and Young Adults in São Paulo, Brazil

Background. Recent studies have sought to describe HIV infection and transmission characteristics around the world. Identification of early HIV-1 infection is essential to proper surveillance and description of regional transmission trends. In this study we compare people recently infected (RI) with HIV-1, as defined by Serologic Testing Algorithm for Recent HIV Seroconversion (STARHS), to those with chronic infection. Methodology/Principal Findings Subjects were identified from 2002-2004 at four testing sites in São Paulo. Of 485 HIV-1-positive subjects, 57 (12%) were defined as RI. Of the participants, 165 (34.0%) were aware of their serostatus at the time of HIV-1 testing. This proportion was statistically larger (p<0.001) among the individuals without recent infection (n = 158, 95.8%) compared to 7 individuals (4.2%) with recently acquired HIV-1 infection. In the univariate analysis, RI was more frequent in <25 and >59 years-old age strata (p<0.001). The majority of study participants were male (78.4%), 25 to 45 years-old (65.8%), white (63.2%), single (61.7%), with family income of four or more times the minimum wage (41.0%), but with an equally distributed educational level. Of those individuals infected with HIV-1, the predominant route of infection was sexual contact (89.4%), with both hetero (47.5%) and homosexual (34.5%) exposure. Regarding sexual activity in these individuals, 43.9% reported possible HIV-1 exposure through a seropositive partner, and 49.4% reported multiple partners, with 47% having 2 to 10 partners and 37.4% 11 or more; 53.4% of infected individuals reported condom use sometimes; 34.2% reported non-injecting, recreational drug use and 23.6% were reactive for syphilis by VDRL. Subjects younger than 25 years of age were most vulnerable according to the multivariate analysis. ) Conclusions/Significance In this study, we evaluated RI individuals and discovered that HIV-1 has been spreading among younger individuals in São Paulo and preventive approaches should, therefore, target this age stratu