Lagochilascaris minor: Susceptibility and Resistance to Experimental Infection in Mice Is Independent of H-2a Haplotype and Correlates with the Immune Response in Immunized Animals

Recently, we demonstrated that C57BL/6 mice are more susceptible to experimental lagochilascariosis than BALB/c mice. To investigate the pattern of infection and the role of the genetic background on susceptibility to infection, we studied experimental lagochilascariosis in H-2a identical B10.A and A/J mice. Infected B10.A mice had a lower survival ratio and more severe lesions in the lungs than did A/J mice. Splenocytes of A/J mice immunized with the crude extract of the parasite showed increased proliferation and produced a higher level of interleukin 10 and interferon-γ in the presence of CE or concanavalin A when compared to B10.A mice. This suggests that resistance of A/J mice may be due to less severe lesions in lungs and other organs and a better immune response to parasite antigens. This paper provides evidence that major histocompatibility complex haplotype does not influence the survival to experimental infection with L. minor

Management of Mercury Waste in an Institution of São Paulo State Health Secretary, the Case of Butantan Institute

Metallic mercury is a species of interest for public health and the environment due to its high toxicity. The activities related to health assistance are among the important sources of anthropic emissions of mercury. There are alternatives to the use of mercury which are safe and economically viable for almost all its applications the health care. The São Paulo State Secretary of Health published Resolution SS-SP no. 239 on 12/07/2010, prohibiting the purchase, the use and the storage of mercury containing products in the institutions under its jurisdiction and determined that they should be disposed of following the accepted procedures. Instituto Butantan is a biomedical research center of the São Paulo State Secretary of Health and is responsible for the production of vaccines and serums for prophylactic and curative use. It also develops scientific research related to public health. In order to comply with the Resolution SS-SP no. 239, the Environment Management (EM) in collaboration with the Purchase Section and the Quality Assurance Department (QAD) replaced all mercury containing thermometers in the Institute. 183.0 kg of waste were sent to a company specialized in mercury phase-out process, through which the distilled mercury was extracted and the other materials were decontaminated. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.17807/orbital.v7i2.69

Segregação de Resíduos Químicos por Compatibilidade e Reatividade no Instituto Butantan

O Plano de gerenciamento de resíduos químicos no Instituto Butantan utiliza uma combinação de critérios que devem ser avaliados ao se trabalhar com esses resíduos: a incompatibilidade inter e intra classes, a reatividade química e caraterísticas que podem interferir na classificação de risco de determinadas substâncias, como a hidratação e a concentração. Esse programa também apresenta atividades educacionais, medidas de minimização de geração de resíduos e ainda conta com um químico como responsável técnico. De forma integrada a engenharia de segurança, destinou os resíduos químicos de forma segura e atendendo a legislação. Esse plano minimiza os riscos operacionais e pode ser usado não apenas para a segregação de resíduos químicos, mas também no acondicionamento de produtos químicos em laboratórios e indústrias, contribuindo para o desempenho seguro das atividades nos diferentes setores, bem como para promoção do bem estar da sociedade. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17807/orbital.v7i1.68

Human complement activation and anaphylatoxins generation induced by snake venom toxins from Bothrops genus

Snake venoms are a complex mixture of components, which have a wide range of actions both on prey and human victims. The genus Bothrops causes the vast majority of snakebites in Central and South America, being responsible for 80% of snake envenomations in Brazil. Envenomations are characterized by prominent local effects, including oedema, haemorrhage and necrosis, which can lead to permanent disability. Systemic manifestations such as haemorrhage, coagulopathy, shock and acute renal failure may also occur. In the present study we have investigated the action of venoms from 19 species of snakes from the genus Bothrops, occurring in Brazil, on the complement system in in vitro studies. All venoms were able to activate the classical complement pathway, in the absence of sensitizing antibody. This activation was in part associated with the cleavage of C1-Inhibitor by proteases present in these venoms, which disrupts complement activation control. No modification of the membrane bound complement regulators, such as DAF, CR1 and CD59 was detected, after treatment of human erythrocytes with the snake venoms. Some of the Bothrops venoms were also able to activate alternative and lectin pathways, as measured in haemolytic and ELISA assays. C3a, C4a and C5a were generated in sera treated with the venoms, not only through C-activation, but also by the direct cleavage of complement components, as determined using purified C3 and C4. Metallo- and/or serine-protease inhibitors prevented cleavage of C3 and C4. These results suggest that Bothrops venoms can activate the complement system, generating a large amount of anaphylatoxins, which may play an important role in the inflammatory process presented in humans after snake envenomations, and they may also assist, due to their vasodilatory effects, to enhance the spreading of other venom components

Early Peritoneal CC Chemokine Production Correlates with Divergent Inflammatory Phenotypes and Susceptibility to Experimental Arthritis in Mice

The inflammatory and autoimmune events preceding clinical symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other autoimmune diseases are difficult to study in human patients. Therefore, animal models that share immunologic and clinical features with human RA, such as pristane-induced arthritis (PIA), are valuable tools for assessing the primordial events related to arthritis susceptibility. PIA-resistant HIII and susceptible LIII mice were injected i.p. with pristane, and peritoneal lavage fluid was harvested in the early (7 days) and late (35 days) preclinical phases of PIA. Chemokine and cytokine levels were measured in lavage supernatant with ELISA, peritoneal inflammatory leukocytes were immunophenotyped by flow cytometry, and gene expression was determined by qRT-PCR. Leukocyte recruitment was quantitatively and qualitatively divergent in the peritoneum of HIII and LIII mice, with an early increase of CC chemokines (CCL2/CCL3/CCL5/CCL12/CCL22) in the susceptible LIII strain. Also, cytokines such as IL-12p40, IL-23, and IL-18 were elevated in LIII mice while IL-6 was increased in HIII animals. The results show that an early peritoneal CC chemokine response is an important feature of arthritis susceptibility and defines potential biomarkers in this model