Lung tissue mechanics in the early stages of induced paracoccidioidomycosis in rats

Pulmonary dysfunction represents the most important cause of death in patients with paracoccidioidomycosis (PBM). In order to investigate the functional changes of the lungs in the early stages of PBM, a model of benign disease was developed by intratracheal challenge of 12-week old isogenic Wistar rats with 1 x 10(6) yeast forms of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. Animals were studied 30 and 60 days after infection, when fully developed granulomas were demonstrable in the lungs. Measurements of airway reistance, lung elastance and tissue hysteresis were made during sinusoidal deformations (100 breaths/min, tidal volume = 2 ml) with direct measurement of alveolar pressure using the alveolar capsule technique. Infection caused a significant increase in hysteresis (infected: 1.69, N = 13; control: 1.13, N=12,P = 0.024, ANOVA), with no alterations in airway resitance or lung elastance. Histopathological analysis revealed the presence of fully developed granulomas located in the axial compartment of the lung interstitial space. These results suggest that alterations of tissue mechanics represent an early event in experimental PBM.

Comprometimento da medula óssea e eosinofilia na paracoccidioidomicose / Bone marrow involvement and eosinophilia in paracoccidioidomycosis

The authors described three acute paracoccidioidomycosis patients with bone marrow involvement. P. brasiliensis yeast forms were observed in bone marrow smears of all them, and in one case, culture also revealed fungus growth. The mononuclear phagocytic system involvement, the blood eosinophilia and the negative skin hypersensibility responses were emphasized in all of them, as well as the severity of the disease in one case, with disseminated bone lesions and 20.260 eosinophils/mm3 in peripheral blood. The authors discuss the possible role of eosinophil in the host-parasite interaction in paracoccidioidomycosis, suggesting that TH 2 subpopulation activation and increased IL 5 and GM-CSF secretions may be responsible by eosinophilia in the most severe case.

Niveis de aglutininas anti-tifoidicas em esquistossomoticos hepato-esplenicos. / Levels of anti-typhoid agglutinins in patients with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis

Dois grupos, constituidos de 43 esquistossomoticos hepato-esplenicos e 83 individuos controle, foram analisados quanto a prevalencia de aglutininas anti-tifoidicas.Os esquistossomoticos apresentaram frequencia maior de aglutininas anti-tifoidicas (H e/ou O e/ou Vi) e de aglutininas anti-O do que os individuos "normais". Apesar de que estes dados se devam, pelo menos parcialmente, a maior exposicao natural dos esquistossomoticos aos antigenos estudados, sugere-se nao estar ocorrendo deficiencia na sintese de anticorpos, hipotese esta frequentemente associada as baixas taxas de positividade de anticorpos anti-O encontrados nestes pacientes com bacteremia prolongada pela Salmonella

Resposta imune humoral a vacina anti-tifoidica em esquistossomose mansonica hepato-esplenica. / Humoral immune response to typhoid vaccine in hepatosplenic schistosomiasis mansoni

Aglutininas anti-tifoidicas contra o antigeno H e hemaglutininas contra os antigenos O e Vi foram medidas em dois grupos, constituidos de 15 pacientes com esquistossomose hepato-esplenica compensada e 15 individuos nao esquistossomoticos. Todos receberam 3 doses de vacina anti-tifoidica. A pesquisa de anticorpos foi realizada em 5 periodos, nos dias: 7o, 14o, 21o, 28o, e 49o apos a primeira dose da vacina. Os niveis de aglutininas anti H foram significantemente maiores nos esquistossomoticos. Os niveis de hemaglutininas anti-O e anti-Vi foram semelhantes em ambos os grupos