Polymorphisms in the MBL2 gene are associated with the plasma levels of MBL and the cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α in severe COVID-19

IntroductionMannose-binding lectin (MBL) promotes opsonization, favoring phagocytosis and activation of the complement system in response to different microorganisms, and may influence the synthesis of inflammatory cytokines. This study investigated the association of MBL2 gene polymorphisms with the plasma levels of MBL and inflammatory cytokines in COVID-19.MethodsBlood samples from 385 individuals (208 with acute COVID-19 and 117 post-COVID-19) were subjected to real-time PCR genotyping. Plasma measurements of MBL and cytokines were performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and flow cytometry, respectively.ResultsThe frequencies of the polymorphic MBL2 genotype (OO) and allele (O) were higher in patients with severe COVID-19 (p< 0.05). The polymorphic genotypes (AO and OO) were associated with lower MBL levels (p< 0.05). IL-6 and TNF-α were higher in patients with low MBL and severe COVID-19 (p< 0.05). No association of polymorphisms, MBL levels, or cytokine levels with long COVID was observed.DiscussionThe results suggest that, besides MBL2 polymorphisms promoting a reduction in MBL levels and therefore in its function, they may also contribute to the development of a more intense inflammatory process responsible for the severity of COVID-19

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions

Estudo da associação dos polimorfismos nos genes fator de necrose tumoral α (TNFA), Interleucina 6 (IL6) e interleucina 10 (IL10) em pacientes com infecção crônica pelos vírus das hepatites B e C

Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.As hepatites desencadeiam diferentes respostas imunológicas de caráter inato e adaptativo, contribuindo para o aumento ou queda na produção de citocinas que atuarão de forma a mediar os processos imunes e inflamatórios. O fator de necrose tumoral alfa (TNF-α), a Interleucina 6 (IL-6) e a Interleucina 10 (IL-10) são citocinas que regulam o processo inflamatório. Este trabalho visa determinar as frequências dos polimorfismos nos genes TNFA, IL6 e IL10 em pacientes portadores crônicos das hepatites B e C, buscando identificar possíveis associações com a progressão dessas infecções. Este estudo é do tipo transversal e analítico, sendo a população de estudo composta por pacientes portadores de hepatite B crônica (74), hepatite C crônica (101) e de um grupo controle (300), formado por indivíduos doadores de sangue. O DNA foi extraído a partir das amostras de sangue periférico, e posteriormente, submetidos à análise dos polimorfismos nos genes do TNFA (rs1800629), IL6 (rs1800795) e IL10 (rs1800896) por PCR em tempo real (qPCR). Foram realizados exames bioquímicos e sorológicos para todos os participantes do estudo, assim como exames histopatológicos, obedecendo a classificação francesa METAVIR, pontuando a atividade do infiltrado inflamatório portal e peri-portal de 0 a 3 e as alterações estruturais de 0 a 4. As análises estatísticas foram realizadas no programa BioEstat 5.0v, adotando como nível de significante pA (rs1800629), IL-6 -174G>C (rs1800795) e IL-10 −1082G>A (rs1800896) com a atividade inflamatória e o estadiamento da fibrose nos grupos HBV e HCV. Conclui-se que os polimorfismos dos genes do TNFA (rs1800629), IL6 (rs1800795) e IL10 (rs1800896) parecem contribuir para a progressão do quadro clínico-laboratorial das infecções por HBV e HCV, contudo estudos com outros grupos populacionais de diferentes etnias são necessários para confirmar esses resultados

TNFA-308G>A and IL10-1082A>G polymorphisms seem to be predictive biomarkers of chronic HCV infection

This study was funded by the National Council for Scientifc and Technological Development (CNPQ #480128/2013-8) and by the Federal University of Pará (PROPESP/PAPQ/2020)Federal University of Pará. Institute of Biological Sciences. Laboratory of Virology. Belém, Pará, Brazil / Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Virologia. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Federal University of Pará. Institute of Biological Sciences. Laboratory of Virology. Belém, Pará, Brazil.Federal University of Pará. Institute of Biological Sciences. Laboratory of Virology. Belém, Pará, Brazil.Federal University of Pará. João de Barros Barreto Hospital. Belém, Pará, Brazil / Federal University of Pará. Institute of Health Sciences. School of Medicine. Belém, Pará, Brazil.Federal University of Pará. Institute of Biological Sciences. Laboratory of Virology. Belém, Pará, Brazil.Federal University of Pará. Institute of Biological Sciences. Laboratory of Virology. Belém, Pará, Brazil.Federal University of Pará. Institute of Biological Sciences. Laboratory of Virology. Belém, Pará, Brazil.Background: Genetic changes may induce dysregulated cytokine production and afect the progression of the chronic disease caused by the hepacivirus C (HCV) because the balance of pro- and anti-infammatory cytokines determines the outcome of infection. This study evaluated the TNFA -308G>A and IL10 -1082A>G polymorphisms in the susceptibility and progress of chronic hepatitis C. Method: The study included 101 samples from patients with chronic hepatitis C and 300 samples from healthy donors. Polymorphisms were typed by real-time PCR and were analyzed for associations with histopathological parameters (according to METAVIR classifcation) and HCV viral load. Results: The polymorphic genotype for the TNFA -308G>A variant was not present in the group of patients with chronic hepatitis C and its absence could be associated with protection against HCV infection (p=0.0477). Patients with the polymorphic genotype of the IL10 -1082A>G polymorphism had higher HCV viral load than wild-type patients (p=0.0428). Neither polymorphism was associated with diferent levels of necroinfammatory activity or fbrosis scores. Conclusion: Our results suggest the polymorphic genotype at TNFA -308G>A as protective against chronic HCV infection, and the polymorphic genotype at the IL10 -1082A>G variant associated with higher HCV viral load. Further studies must be performed in order to confrm these associations

Chlamydia trachomatis serotype A infections in the Amazon region of Brazil: prevalence, entry and dissemination

INTRODUCTION: Chlamydia infection is associated with debilitating human diseases including trachoma, pneumonia, coronary heart disease and urogenital diseases. Serotypes of C. trachomatis show a fair correlation with the group of diseases they cause, and their distribution follows a well-described geographic pattern. Serotype A, a trachoma-associated strain, is known for its limited dissemination in the Middle East and Northern Africa. However, knowledge on the spread of bacteria from the genus Chlamydia as well as the distribution of serotypes in Brazil is quite limited. METHODS: Blood samples of 1,710 individuals from ten human population groups in the Amazon region of Brazil were examined for antibodies to Chlamydia using indirect immunofluorescence and microimmunofluorescence assays. RESULTS: The prevalence of antibodies to Chlamydia ranged from 23.9% (Wayana-Apalai) to 90.7% (Awa-Guaja) with a mean prevalence of 50.2%. Seroreactivity was detected to C. pneumoniae and to all serotypes of C. trachomatis tested; furthermore, we report clear evidence of the as-yet-undescribed occurrence of serotype A of C. trachomatis. CONCLUSIONS: Specific seroreactivity not only accounts for the large extent of dissemination of C. trachomatis in the Amazon region of Brazil but also shows an expanded area of occurrence of serotype A outside the epidemiological settings previously described. Furthermore, these data suggest possible routes of Chlamydia introduction into the Amazon region from the massive human migration that occurred during the 1,700s

The IL6-174G/C polymorphism associated with high levels of IL-6 contributes to HCV infection, but Is not related to HBV infection, in the Amazon Region of Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico—CNPQ (grants #480128/2013-8, #312979/2018-5, #301869/2017-0) and by the Federal University of Para (PROPESP/PAPQ/2021).Federal University of Pará. Institute of Biological Sciences. Laboratory of Virology. Belém, PA, BrazilFederal University of Pará. Institute of Biological Sciences. Laboratory of Virology. Belém, PA, Brazil / Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Virologia. Ananindeua, PA, BrasilFederal University of Pará. Institute of Biological Sciences. Laboratory of Virology. Belém, PA, Brazil / Federal University of Pará. Institute of Biological Sciences. Graduate Program in Biology of Infectious and Parasitic Agents. Belém, PA, BrazilFederal University of Pará. Institute of Biological Sciences. Laboratory of Virology. Belém, PA, BrazilFederal University of Pará. João de Barros Barreto University Hospital. Pathology Service. Belém, PA, Brazil / Federal University of Pará. Institute of Health Sciences. School of Medicine. Belém, PA, BrazilFederal University of Pará. Institute of Biological Sciences. Laboratory of Virology. Belém, PA, BrazilFederal University of Pará. Institute of Biological Sciences. Laboratory of Virology. Belém, PA, BrazilFederal University of Pará. Institute of Biological Sciences. Laboratory of Virology. Belém, PA, BrazilThe dysregulation of cytokine production can lead to an inefficient immune response, promoting viral persistence that induces the progression of chronic viral hepatitis. The study investigated the association of the IL6-174G/C polymorphism with changes in cytokine levels and its influence on the persistence and progression of chronic hepatitis caused by HBV and HCV in 72 patients with chronic hepatitis B (HBV), 100 patients with hepatitis C (HCV), and a control group of 300 individuals. The genotyping of the IL6-174G/C polymorphism was performed by real-time PCR, and cytokine levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). HCV patients with the wild-type genotype (GG) had a higher viral load (p = 0.0230). The plasma levels of IL-6 were higher among patients infected with HBV and HCV than among the control group (p < 0.0001). Patients with HCV were associated with increased inflammatory activity (A2-A3; p < 0.0001). In hepatitis C, carriers of the GG genotype had higher levels of IL-6 (p = 0.0286), which were associated with A2-A3 inflammatory activity (p = 0.0097). Patients with A2-A3 inflammatory activity and GG genotype had higher levels of IL-6 than those with the GC/CC genotype (p = 0.0127). In conclusion, the wild-type genotype for the IL6-174G/C polymorphism was associated with high levels of IL-6 and HCV viral load and inflammatory activity, suggesting that this genotype may be a contributing factor to virus-induced chronic infection