HLA molecules and nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from dialysis and kidney transplant patients at a hospital in Southern Brazil

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Healthy individuals can host <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>in the nasopharynx, body surface and vagina. Most invasive infections by this bacterium are endogenous, caused by strains spread from the nasopharynx of carriers. <it>S. aureus </it>is a pathogen involved in the etiology of hospital- and community-acquired infections. Transplant and dialysis patients are at risk of colonization or infection by multi-resistant <it>S. aureus</it>. Infection is directly linked to individual immunity, and the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a crucial role in determining susceptibility to diseases. Different MHC specificities have been shown to be more frequent in individuals suffering from certain diseases. This study aimed to investigate the association between HLA class I (HLA-A and -B) and class II (HLA-DRB1) molecules and nasal carriage of <it>S. aureus </it>in dialysis and kidney transplant patients at a hospital in Southern Brazil.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The sample consisted of 70 dialysis and 46 kidney transplant patients, totaling 116 patients. All subjects were typed for HLA molecules using LABType^®SSO (One Lambda). Nasal swab samples of <it>S. aureus </it>were isolated from the nasal cavity (both nostrils) of patients undergoing dialysis or kidney transplantation.</p> <p>In renal dialysis patients, HLA-A*02 was the most frequent allele in both carriers (25.5%) and non-carriers (21.2%) of <it>S. aureus</it>. Allele A*68 was not observed in the carrier group, but the allele was observed six times in the non-carrier group (<it>p </it>= 0.0097). Regarding HLA-B and HLA-DRB1, no allele was shown to be involved in protection against or susceptibility to carriage of <it>S. aureus</it>. In kidney transplant patients, allele A*03 was more frequent in the non-carrier (20.83%) than in the carrier (5.88%) group (<it>p </it>= 0.0486). HLA-B*15 was present in carriers (5.88%) and non-carriers (25%) (<it>p </it>= 0.0179). Regarding class II alleles, DRB1*03 appeared to be related to susceptibility to carriage of <it>S. aureus </it>(<it>p </it>= 0.0319).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest that HLA-DRB1*03 may be involved in susceptibility to nasal carriage of <it>S. aureus </it>in transplant patients. In addition, HLA-A*68 (dialysis patients) and HLA-A*03 and HLA-B*15 (transplant patients) appear to be associated with increased resistance to <it>S. aureus </it>nasal carriage.</p

Soroprevalência do Citomegalovirus Humano em amostras de pacientes dialíticos e transplantados renais

El objetivo fue investigar la seroprevalencia de Citomegalovirus Humano en dialíticos y trasplantados renales y la asociación con la transfusión de sangre y el sexo. Estudio transversal, llevado a cabo de 2011 a 2012, en Maringá, PR, Brasil. La población fue compuesta de 203 pacientes dialíticos y 53 trasplantados renales y la identificación viral se realizó mediante la técnica serológica. Se encontró 96% (195) de seropositividad para anti-HCMV-IgG en dialíticos y 100% en los trasplantados; 5% (10) de seropositividad para anti-HCMV-IgM en dialíticos y 37,7% (20) en trasplantados. Realizándose la prueba exacta de Fisher, no hubo asociación significativa entre la seropositividad del anti-HCMV con la transfusión de sangre y género. A la gran parte de los infectados se señala la importancia de la atención de enfermería para prevenir la infección cruzada durante los procedimientos de rutina

TGF-β1 polymorphism in American tegumentary leishmaniasis in a Southern Brazilian population

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Genetic polymorphisms define the cytokine production leading to susceptibility or resistance to diseases. We studied the cytokine polymorphism in the development of tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL). METHODS: Genotyping of TNF-α, TGF-β1, IFN-γ, IL-6, and IL-10 were performed by polymerase chain reaction assay. RESULTS: G and C alleles of TGF- β1 (codon 25) were the most common in controls and patients, respectively. G/G was the most frequent genotype in controls, and G/C and C/C in patients. CONCLUSIONS: G/G genotype of codon 25 in TGF-β1 appeared to confer resistance, and G/C and C/C genotypes, susceptibility to TL in this population