Bacterial vaginosis: prevalence, risk profile and association with sexually transmitted infections

Background and Objectives: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of vaginal discharge in the world. The study aimed to estimate the prevalence and to identify risk factors associated with bacterial vaginosis. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Ouro Preto, Brazil, between February and December 2017. Three hundred and forty-one women aged 18 years or older, users of the Brazilian Unified Health System, participated in this study. Women who used oral or topical antibiotics in the four weeks prior to the sample collection and women who had undergone a total hysterectomy were excluded from the study. After signing the Informed Consent Form and filling out a questionnaire containing sociodemographic, behavioral and sexual data, the participants were directed to the collection room, where the nurse collected the samples for the preventive examination of the cervix and also two vaginal swabs. Vaginal swabs and cervical samples were analyzed for cytological abnormalities and BV using Gram staining and cytology. Pathogens causing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were identified by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). For the analysis of the data, statistical package STATA version 10.0 was used. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP). Results: During the study, 341 women were evaluated. The prevalence of BV using Gram staining (32.5% [CI95% 27.7=37.7%]) and cytology (27.7% [CI95% 23.0=32.8%]) was similar, however, the sensitivity of cytology was lower (77.8%). Risk factors associated with BV were smoking (IRR 1.5[CI95%: 1.1 = 2.1]), use of an intrauterine device (IRR 2.8 [CI95%: 1.2 = 6.5]), and past medical history of BV (IRR 1.5 [CI95%: 1.1 = 2.1]). Correlation between the presence of BV and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) infection (r=0.24) was observed. Conclusion: The prevalence of BV was affected by life habits and was prevalent in women with TV. Thus, behavioral and social prevention approaches to women with diverse risk profiles may help mitigate TV/BV prevalence and recurrence of BV

Increase of binucleated cells in the oral mucosa : a study on the use of psychotropics by students of a Brazilian institution.

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of medical and nonmedical use of psychiatric medication among undergraduate students of health sciences from a public university in Brasil. Another objective was to determine the frequency of nuclear morphological abnormalities in the buccal mucosa of students using psychiatric drugs. A cross-sectional study based on a Web survey was carried out with 375 health sciences undergraduate students from schools of Pharmacy, Physical Education, Nutrition, and Medicine. Additionally, spontaneous genetic damages in exfoliated cells of the buccal mucosa of 41 individuals by counting micronucleus (MN) and binucleated (BN) cells frequencies were evaluated. The results showed 76 (20.3%) of students reported the use of psychotropic drugs after enrolling in university. The majority of these students were from Pharmacy and Medicine programs, females, aged between 18-25 years old, nonsmokers, alcohol addicts, and with a family history of mental illness. In addition, Medical students, individuals with high-income, who live alone and are in the last period of the program are more likely to use psychotropic drugs. Moreover, exposure to psychiatric medication was able to increase the number of binucleated cells. These results provide evidence that the use of psychoactive drugs is increased in the academic context and may be related to the failure of the cell cycle

Anti-serum validation for use in immunohistochemistry for Trypanosoma cruzi detection.

Introduction: The detection of Trypanosoma cruzi in tissue samples is important in many situations, such as testing of the reactivation of the infection. The detection of T. cruzi nests in endomyocardial biopsies (EMB) may be useful to evaluate graft rejection. Given their scarcity, such nests are not routinely identified. To increase the diagnosis sensitivity, immunohistochemistry (IHC) may serve as a promising strategy. Here, we validate an antiserum for the detection of T. cruzi infection by IHC. Methods: We used 1) positive controls (PCs) ? 13 EMB, 12 skin biopsies, and 1 heart with T. cruzi nests as sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE); 2) negative controls ? a) 10 explant hearts and 10 EMB with no amastigote nests or clinical/laboratory signs of chagasic infection; and b) eight samples with leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis, or histoplasmosis; and 3) Cases ? 31 EMB of chagasic patients with no parasite nests in HE sections but detected positive for T. cruzi DNA by polymerase chain reaction. As a primary antibody, a hyperimmune serum from T. cruzi-infected rabbits was used. Results: IHC results were positive for 21 of 26 PCs (80.8%) and one case of cutaneous leishmaniasis. In 4 of 31 cases, IHC revealed nests (12.9%), which were undetected by conventional histological examination. Conclusions: This study shows that IHC with the tested antiserum increases the sensitivity of the diagnosis and may be recommended for routine use in EMB analyses of cardiac transplant patients with Chagas disease

Polymeric micelles containing resveratrol: development, characterization, cytotoxicity on tumor cells and antimicrobial activity

Antimicrobial and antitumor activities of resveratrol, a compound found mainly in grapes, have already been demonstrated. However, its low bioavailability is a limiting factor for therapeutic application. Polymeric micelles can be an approach to solve this problem since they can encapsulate hydrophobic substances. We developed and characterized micellar formulations containing resveratrol and evaluated their cytotoxic and antimicrobial effects. The formulations were prepared by the cold dispersion method with different concentrations of F127 (5 or 10% w/w) and resveratrol (500 or 5000 µM). The formulations were characterized according to size, polydispersity index, pH, encapsulation rate and in vitro release. Cytotoxic effect was evaluated on a bladder cancer cell line and antimicrobial effect was evaluated on E. coli, S. aureus and C. albicans. One of the formulations (10% w/w of F127 and 5000 µM of resveratrol) was a monodispersed solution with high encapsulation rate, thus it was chosen for the cytotoxicity and antimicrobial assays. MS10+RES-3 was able to preserve the antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of resveratrol. This is the first study that evaluated antimicrobial potential and cytotoxicity of micelles containing resveratrol on bladder cancer cells and the results showed that micellar nanostructures could ensure the maintenance of the biological activity of resveratrol

Efeitos citotóxicos e toxicogenômicos dos antineoplásicos cisplatina e gencitabina em células de carcinoma de bexiga

Os agentes químicos utilizados para o tratamento do câncer ativam vias de sinalização que levam ao bloqueio ou retardo no ciclo celular, ativação ou desativação de mecanismos de reparo do DNA e apoptose. Entretanto, os mecanismos moleculares responsáveis por tais atividades ainda não foram completamente elucidados. Nesse contexto, os estudos de expressão gênica tornaram-se ferramentas importantes para a obtenção de informações que podem contribuir para o entendimento das respostas celulares frente à exposição a agentes neoplásicos e os mecanismos envolvidos na gênese e regressão de neoplasias. Em relação ao câncer de bexiga, a combinação de cisplatina/gencitabina é considerada como protocolo quimioterapêutico padrão. Entretanto, o mecanismo exato de ação dessas drogas ainda não foi completamente elucidado, principalmente no que diz respeito ao status do gene TP53, uma das principais alterações encontradas em câncer de bexiga. Com base nessas premissas, o objetivo deste estudo foi investigar os efeitos da cisplatina e da gencitabina sobre o índice apoptótico, ciclo celular e padrão de expressão gênica, em 3 linhagens de células de carcinoma transicional de bexiga (RT4, TP53 selvagem, grau 1; 5637, TP53 mutado, grau 2; T24, TP53 mutado, grau 3). Para avaliar tais respostas celulares foram utilizados os ensaios de citotoxicidade, sobrevivência celular e clonogência, análise do ciclo celular e apoptose por citometria de fluxo, e análise da expressão gênica usando microarranjos de cDNA. Os resultados mostraram: 1) que as células TP53 selvagem (RT4) foram mais sensíveis à apoptose do que células TP53 mutadas quando tratadas com cisplatina e gencitabina, ou com a combinação de ambas; 2) parada permanente do ciclo em G1, nas três linhagens celulares, após tratamento com a gencitabina e com a combinação cisplatina/gencitabina...Background: currently, the combination cisplatin/gemcitabine is considered a (second) standard chemotherapeutical protocol for bladder cancer. However, the mechanism by which these drugs act on tumor cells is not completely understood. Therefore, the aim of the present was to investigate the effects of these two antineoplastic drugs on the apoptotic index and cell cycle distribution in urinary bladder transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) cell lines with different TP53 status (RT4, with wild type TP53; 5637 and T24, with mutated TP53). Methods: cytotoxicity, cell survival and clonogenic survival assays, and flow citometry analysis for cell cycle and apoptosis cells were done in the cell lines treated with different concentrations of cisplatin and gemcitabine. Results: wild type TP53 cells were more sensitive to apoptosis than mutated TP53 cells when treated with cisplatin or gemcitabine; permanent G1 cell-cycle arrest was observed in the three cell lines after treatment with gemcitabine or with the combination of both; significant cell death was detected in all the cell lines after treatments with cisplatin or gemcitabine. However, when drugs were given in combinations, lower percentage of survival occurred independent on TP53 status. Conclusions: it was demonstrated that the combination of cisplatin and gemcitabine can be effective despite of tumor-associated TP53 mutations. Thus, the synergism between low concentrations of cisplatin and gemcitabine may have clinical relevance, since the use of high concentrations of cisplatin is toxic to the whole organism.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Avalição de polimorfismos de nucleotídeos simples (SNPs) na região promotora de gene da interleucina 10 em pacientes com Linfoma de Hodgkin

O linfoma de Hodgkin (LH) tem características clínicas e anátomo-patológicas distintas dos linfomas não-Hodgkin. Seu componente neoplásico, as células células de Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg (H-RS), corresponde a cerca de 2% do tumor. As células H-RS apresentam imunofenótipo peculiar e sua origem ainda é objeto de estudo. O LH é classificado em LH clássico (que inclui os subtipos celularidade mista, esclerose nodular, depleção linfocítica e LH rico em linfócitos) e LH predominância linfocítica nodular. A associação do vírus de Epstein-Barr (EBV) com LH é conhecida e acredita-se que este vírus desempenha importante papel no desenvolvimento de parcela significativa dos casos de LH. No LH, o acúmulo de células reativas como linfócitos, plasmócitos, eosinófilos, histiócitos e fibroblastos ocorre em resposta a citocinas secretadas pelas células H-RS. A interleucina 10 (IL-10), importante citocina antiinflamatória da resposta imunitária, tem sido encontrada em grande quantidade em indivíduos com LH. É possível que essa elevada expressão de IL-10 esteja vinculada a determinados polimorfismos de nucleotídeos simples (SNP) na seqüência promotora do gene da IL-10, que podem se associar a características anátomoclínicas do LH. O presente trabalho avaliou a freqüência dos polimorfismos da IL-10 nas posições promotoras -1082, -819/-592 e estudou a correlação destes polimorfismos em LH com subtipos histológicos, infecção pelo EBV, faixa etária e, em alguns casos, estadiamento clínico da doença. Os resultados demonstram que os diferentes fenótipos para produção de IL-10, genótipos na posição -1082 e genótipos nas posições -592/-819 não têm relação com subtipos do LH e idade dos pacientes. Por outro lado, verificou-se que o genótipo GG na posição -1082 e a combinação de haplótipos GCC/GCC para alta...Clinical and pathologic features of Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) reflect an abnormal immune response, which is in part due to the elaboration of a variety of cytokines. It was reported that interleukin 10 (IL -10), which may be produced by the malignant Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg (H-RS) cells, is an important prognostic factor in HL, and it could play a role in the pathogenesis of this neoplasm. It is well established that genetic factors affect protein expression and function. In this regard, polymorphisms in the promoter region of IL-10 gene may cause different phenotypes for IL- 10 synthesis and activity. Three dimorphic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been identified at positions -1082, -819 and -519 within the IL-10 promoter region (SNPs/IL-10). These polymorphisms are in close proximity to several transcription factors binding-sites, and may interfere with IL-10 gene transcription. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether is there a particular distribution of SNPs at positions -1082, -819 and -519 in the IL-10 gene promoter in patients with HL, as well as to access the differences in the SNPs/IL10 frequency regarding HL subtype, patient age, EBV infection status, and clinical staging of the disease. For these purposes, sixty-five cases of HL and fifty cases of reactive follicular lymphoid hyperplasia (RFLH) were evaluated for SNPs/IL-10 by polymerase chain reaction amplification plus restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (PCR-RFLP). Compared to HL EBV-negative cases, in HL EBV-positive cases it was observed a significant increase in the frequency of GG genotype at position -1082 of IL-10 gene promoter region, which is associated to high level of IL -10 production. No differences were observed in the frequency of different SNPs/IL-10 concerning patient age, HL subtype, and clinical stage of the disease. These results... (Complete abstract, click electronic address below)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Relationship between head and neck cancer therapy and some genetic endpoints

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the sixth most common human malignancy worldwide. The main forms of treatment for HNC are surgery, radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapy (CT). However, the choice of therapy depends on the tumor staging and approaches, which are aimed at organ preservation. Because of systemic RT and CT genotoxicity, one of the important side effects is a secondary cancer that can result from the activity of radiation and antineoplastic drugs on healthy cells. Ionizing radiation can affect the DNA, causing single and double-strand breaks, DNA-protein crosslinks and oxidative damage. The severity of radiotoxicity can be directly associated with the radiation dosimetry and the dose-volume differences. Regarding CT, cisplatin is still the standard protocol for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma, the most common cancer located in the oral cavity. However, simultaneous treatment with cisplatin, bleomycin and 5-fluorouracil or treatment with paclitaxel and cisplatin are also used. These drugs can interact with the DNA, causing DNA crosslinks, double and single-strand breaks and changes in gene expression. Currently, the late effects of therapy have become a recurring problem, mainly due to the increased survival of HNC patients. Herein, we present an update of the systemic activity of RT and CT for HNC, with a focus on their toxicogenetic and toxicogenomic effects