Standardization of DNA extraction from paraffinized spleen samples: molecular diagnosis of human malaria.

BACKGROUND: Plasmodium vivax is the main species responsible for human malaria in Brazil, and one of its manifestations is splenic malaria, though there are still challenges in its diagnosis. The present study aimed to standardize Plasmodium sp. DNA extraction from histological slices of spleen and diagnosis using real-time qPCR. METHODS: This study performed a microtomy of a paraffin-embedded spleen as a positive control for P. vivax from a patient who had been previously diagnosed with the parasite. The sample was deparaffinized with xylol and ethanol, then DNA extraction was performed with two commercial kits. qPCR was carried out with the Taqman system for detection of Plasmodium sp. and was made species-specific using PvmtCOX1 gene. From 2015 to 2019, 200 spleen samples were obtained from trauma patients subjected to splenectomy in Manaus, Amazonas. All the samples were tested for cell-free human DNA (cfDNA). RESULTS: The deparaffinization and the Plasmodium vivax DNA extraction method was successfully standardized, and the control sample was positive for P. vivax. Of the 200 samples, all qPCRs were negative, but they were positive for human PCR. CONCLUSION: Paraffinization is practical and efficient for the preservation of samples, but the formation of bonds between proteins and DNA makes extraction difficult. Despite this, in this study, it was possible to standardize a method of DNA extraction for detecting P. vivax.

Primary lipoma arborescens of the knee.

Lipoma arborescens is a rare and benign intra-articular lesion of unknown etiology; it is characterized by synovial villous proliferation and sub-synovial connective tissue replacement by mature fatty tissue. It is part of the differential diagnosis in patients with an articulation affected by a slow, progressive, and chronically inflamed affection. We report primary knee involvement in a patient without significant articulate antecedents. Lipoma arborescens was diagnosed after knee magnetic resonance imaging and was confirmed by an anatomopathological study of the surgical specimen.

Seized cannabis seeds cultivated in greenhouse: A chemical study by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and chemometric analysis.

Cannabis sativa L. is cultivated in most regions of the world. In 2013, the Brazilian Federal Police (BFP) reported 220 tons of marijuana seized and about 800,000 cannabis plants eradicated. Efforts to eradicate cannabis production may have contributed to the development of a new form of international drug trafficking in Brazil: the sending of cannabis seeds in small amounts to urban centers by logistics postal. This new and increasing panorama of cannabis trafficking in Brazil, encouraged the chemical study of cannabis seeds cultivated in greenhouses by gas-chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) associated with exploratory and discriminant analysis. Fifty cannabis seeds of different varieties and brands, seized by the BFP were cultivated under predefined conditions for a period of 4.5 weeks, 5.5 weeks, 7.5 weeks, 10 weeks and 12 weeks. Aerial parts were analyzed and cannabigerol, cannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabichromene Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other terpenoids were detected. The chromatographic chemical profiles of the samples were significantly different, probably due to different variety, light exposition and age. THC content increased with the age of the plant, however, for other cannabinoids, this correlation was not observed. The chromatograms were plotted in a matrix with 50 rows (samples) and 3886 columns (abundance in a retention time) and submitted to PCA, HCA and PLS-DA after pretreatment (normalization, first derivative and autoscale). The PCA and HCA showed age separation between samples however it was not possible to verify the separation by varieties and brands. The PLS-DA classification provides a satisfactory prediction of plant age.