ABSTRACT
A leptospirose é uma doença bacteriana de distribuição global e apresentação múltipla, variando desde um processo inaparente até formas letais. O principal reservatório dessa antropozoonose, cujo microrganismo causador é a Leptospira sp., é o roedor, associado a condições precárias de saneamento básico. As enchentes e as chuvas fortes constituem,em nosso meio, grande fonte favorecedora do contato do homem com as águas contaminadas e tem relação direta com a maior incidência sazonal da doença, bem como forte ligação com a atividade profissional. Esse estudo de caráter qualiquantitativo foi realizado com base na análise de prontuários da Vigilância Epidemiológica da Secretaria de Saúde de Itaperuna-RJ, durante os meses de fevereiro e março de 2012, e incluiu dados dos três últimos anos. Não houve relação direta entre a incidência da doença e o período de enchentes; a taxa de letalidade encontrada mostrou-se superior aos dados literários e a profissão doméstica foi a mais acometida. Reforça-se, então, a importância de priorizar a prevenção primária no manejo da leptospirose como forma de evitar novos casos.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease of global distribution and multiple presentations ranging from an unapparent process to lethal forms. The main reservoir of this anthropozoonosis, whose causing microorganism is the Leptospira sp., is a rodent associated with poor sanitation conditions. Floods and heavy rainfall are great sources that favor man?s contact with contaminated water and are directly related to seasonal higher incidence of this disease and its strong association with professional activities. This qualitative and quantitative study was conducted based on the analysis of medical records from the Epidemiological Surveillance from the HealthSecretary of Itaperuna-RJ, during the months of February and March 2012, and included data from the last three years. There was no direct relationship between disease incidence and the period of flooding; the lethality rate found proved to be superior to that reported in the literatureand the domestic profession was the most affected. The importance of prioritizing primary prevention is reinforced for the management of leptospirosis and prevention of new cases.
ABSTRACT
Objective To study the biological characteristics of dendritic cells (DCs) derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients diagnosed with syphilis. Methods PBMCs were isolated from 16 patients clinically and serologically diagnosed with syphilis, and from 16 healthy human controls, then cultured with GM-CSF and IL-4. On day 10, the monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDCs)of the patients and controls were collected and subjected to the detection of surface molecules by flow cytometry; TpN17 was used to stimulate MoDCs from the controls, the expression of phosphorylated ERK was detected by Westem blotting 20 minutes following the stimulation. Results The positivity rate of CD80 was significantly increased in the patients with syphilis than that in the controls (51.90% vs 33.67,P ＜ 0.05), while no significant difference was observed in the expressions of CD83, CD86 or HLA-DR be tween the two groups (16.53% vs 15.99%, 66.13% vs 59.32%, 91.29% vs 90.51%, all P 0.05). The ex pressions of CD80 and CD83 on the surface of MoDCs were enhanced in a dose-dependent manner after ex-posure to TpN17. The expression of cytoplasmic phosphorylated ERK was observed in MoDC stimulated by TpN17, but not in those without the treatment. Conclusions Antigenic stimulation with Treponema pal-lidum may be a reason for phenotypic abnormality of MoDCs derived from patients with syphilis. TpN17 may stimulate the maturation of DCs through the ERK signal transduction pathway.
ABSTRACT
Objective To clone.and express Tp0453 outer membrane protein of Treponema pallidum and develop an indirect ELISA for sero diagnosis of syphilis. Methods The immuno-dominant epitope of Tp0453 was amplified by PCR and subcloned into the expression vector pQE32.The recombinant protein was expressed in E.coli M15 and purified with Ni-NTA affinity chromatography columns. Indirect ELISA was developed to detect the antibody to Tp in human sera.Results 60 control sera was tested by ELISA.The sensitivities was 100%(30/30), and the specificities was 100%. While detecting uninfected and infected T. pallidum human sera, the sensitivities of ELISA was 96.8% compared with the results of the TPPA tests, and the specificities was 100% when the results of ELISA was compared with those of the TPPA test. The concordance of results between the ELISA test and the TPPA test was 98.2%.Conclusion The recombinant Tp0453 outer membrane protein showed excellent immuno-reactive activity, and were suitable for development of ELISA for sero-diagnosis of syphilis.