Lymphatic vessels in human adipose tissue

Despite being considered present in most vascularised tissues, lymphatic vessels have not been properly shown in human adipose tissue (AT). Our goal in this study is to investigate an unanswered question in AT biology, regarding lymphatic network presence in tissue parenchyma. Using human subcutaneous (S-) and visceral (V-) AT samples with whole mount staining for lymphatic specific markers and three-dimensional imaging, we showed lymphatic capillaries and larger lymphatic vessels in the human VAT. Conversely, in the human SAT, microcirculatory lymphatic vascular structures were rarely detected and no initial lymphatics were found

Serum and aqueous humour cytokine response and histopathological alterations during ocular Toxoplasma gondii infection in C57BL/6 mice

Toxoplasma gondii, an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite, infects most species of warm-blooded animals, and in humans it causes toxoplasmosis. Healthy people that become infected rarely present clinical symptoms because the immune system prevents the parasite from causing illness. Congenital toxoplasmosis may result in abortion, hydrocephalus, as well as neurological and ocular disease (most frequently retinochoroiditis) of the newborn. in immunocompromised patients, reactivation of latent disease can cause encephalitis. Cell-mediated immunity to T gondii antigens involves innate acute inflammatory responses and antigen-specific adaptive immunity. Considering the complexity of the immunological events triggered during toxoplasmosis, systemic and local responses were evaluated by cytokine measurements. Aqueous humour and serum were obtained from non-infected and T gondii Me-49 strain infected C57BL/6 mice for cytokine quantification. Histopathological analyses were made with eyes enucleated from mice after 30 days of infection. ELISA assays showed an increase of IFN-gamma levels both in serum and aqueous humour of infected mice in opposition to a decrease in IL-10 levels. On the other hand, TGF-beta was high, whereas IL-12 and TNF-alpha were present in small levels in both groups. We also detected higher levels of IL-4 and IL-6 in aqueous humour than in serum of infected mice when compared to the control group. MIP-2 presented no significant differences between the two groups. Fas and Fas-L were also present in similar levels in serum of non-infected and infected mice, but both chemokines were increased in the aqueous humour of infected mice. Histopathological analysis of infected mice showed inflammatory infiltrates around blood vessels and alteration of the outer photoreceptor segments, on the external and inner nuclear layer. Parasites were observed in 82% of eyes, inside the blood vessels associated with inflammatory infiltrate. Edema, characterized by the increase of interstitial spaces between the FTR, forming lacunae was also noted. These alterations take the form of projections (retino-vitreal), characteristic of retinochoroiditis. in conclusion, T gondii infection of C57BL/6 mice revealed that cytokine patterns alone do not assure susceptibility or resistance against infection, thus reinforcing the notion that it is necessary more than cytokine dosage to determine Th1 or Th2 profile in this model. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Instituto Oswaldo CruzFundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Inst Oswaldo Cruz, Lab Biol Estrutural, BR-21040900 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilFundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Inst Oswaldo Cruz, Lab Imunomodulacao, BR-21040900 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Disciplina Anat Topograf & Descritiva, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Morfol, BR-04023900 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Disciplina Anat Topograf & Descritiva, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Morfol, BR-04023900 São Paulo, BrazilCNPq: 151754/2005-5Web of Scienc

Regulation and function of neurogenesis in the adult vertebrate brain

Most adult tissues retain a reservoir of self-renewing, multipotent stem cells that can generate differentiated tissue components. Until recently, the brain was thought to be an exception to this rule and for many years the pervasive dogma of neurobiology relegated neurogenesis to the embryonic and earlier postnatal stages of development. The discovery of constant neuronal replacement in the adult brain has changed the way we think about neurological diseases and about the exploration of new strategies for brain repair. In this review we will explore the potential of adult neural stem cells and we will present some of our own work on this subject. We will also discuss the possibility that adult neurogenesis and neuronal replacement may also play a role in therapies aimed at restoring impaired brain function. A better understanding of the various aspects of spontaneous neuronal replacement may also be used to increase the success of procedures with cell therapies

CD60b: Enriching Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells from Rat Development into Adulthood

CD60b antigens are highly expressed during development in the rat nervous system, while in the adult their expression is restricted to a few regions, including the subventricular zone (SVZ) around the lateral ventricles—a neurogenic niche in the adult brain. For this reason, we investigated whether the expression of C60b is associated with neural stem/progenitor cells in the SVZ, from development into adulthood. We performed in vitro and in vivo analyses of CD60b expression at different stages and identified the presence of these antigens in neural stem/progenitor cells. We also observed that CD60b could be used to purify and enrich a population of neurosphere-forming cells from the developing and adult brain. We showed that CD60b antigens (mainly corresponding to ganglioside 9-O-acetyl GD3, a well-known molecule expressed during central nervous system development and mainly associated with neuronal migration) are also present in less mature cells and could be used to identify and isolate neural stem/progenitor cells during development and in the adult brain. A better understanding of molecules associated with neurogenesis may contribute not only to improve the knowledge about the physiology of the mammalian central nervous system, but also to find new treatments for regenerating tissue after disease or brain injury

Sofosbuvir protects Zika virus-infected mice from mortality, preventing short- and long-term sequelae

Submitted by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2017-10-17T12:58:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 andre_ferreira_etal_IOC_2017.pdf: 1574700 bytes, checksum: 1cbe13c85078c5cb11c6954145f48296 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2017-10-17T13:16:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 andre_ferreira_etal_IOC_2017.pdf: 1574700 bytes, checksum: 1cbe13c85078c5cb11c6954145f48296 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-17T13:16:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 andre_ferreira_etal_IOC_2017.pdf: 1574700 bytes, checksum: 1cbe13c85078c5cb11c6954145f48296 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Imunofarmacologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Imunofarmacologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Imunofarmacologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Imunofarmacologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Imunofarmacologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Imunofarmacologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Imunofarmacologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil.Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Biologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BrasilBMK Consortium: Blanver Farmoquímica Ltda; Microbiológica Química e Farmacêutica Ltda, Karin Bruning & Cia. Ltda. Taboão da Serra, SP, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Imunofarmacologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Imunofarmacologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico em Saúde. Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Inovação em Doenças Negligenciadas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Zika virus (ZIKV) causes significant public health concerns because of its association with congenital malformations, neurological disorders in adults, and, more recently, death. Considering the necessity to mitigate ZIKV-associated diseases, antiviral interventions are an urgent necessity. Sofosbuvir, a drug in clinical use against hepatitis C virus (HCV), is among the FDA-approved substances endowed with anti-ZIKV activity. In this work, we further investigated the in vivo activity of sofosbuvir against ZIKV. Neonatal Swiss mice were infected with ZIKV (2 × 10(7) PFU) and treated with sofosbuvir at 20 mg/kg/day, a concentration compatible with pre-clinical development of this drug. We found that sofosbuvir reduced acute levels of ZIKV from 60 to 90% in different anatomical compartments, such as the blood plasma, spleen, kidney, and brain. Early treatment with sofosbuvir doubled the percentage and time of survival of ZIKV-infected animals. Sofosbuvir also prevented the acute neuromotor impairment triggered by ZIKV. In the long-term behavioural analysis of ZIKV-associated sequelae, sofosbuvir prevented loss of hippocampal- and amygdala-dependent memory. Our results indicate that sofosbuvir inhibits ZIKV replication in vivo, which is consistent with the prospective necessity of antiviral drugs to treat ZIKV-infected individuals