Clinical Profile of SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Mechanisms of the Cellular Immune Response and Immunogenetic Markers in Patients from Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to evaluate some mechanisms of the immune response of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 in both acute infection and early and late convalescence phases. METHODS: This is a cohort study of 70 cases of COVID-19, confirmed by RT-PCR, followed up to 60 days. Plasma Samples and clinical data were. Viral load, blood count, indicators inflammation were the parameters evaluated. Cellular immune response was evaluated by flow cytometry and Luminex immunoassays. RESULTS: In the severe group, hypertension was the only reported comorbidity. Non severe patients have activated memory naive CD4+ T cells. Critically ill patients have central memory CD4+ T cell activation. Severe COVID-19 patients have both central memory and activated effector CD8+ T cells. Non-severe COVID-19 cases showed an increase in IL1ß, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF and severely ill patients had higher levels of the cytokines IL-6, IL-10 and CXCL8. CONCLUSIONS: The present work showed that different cellular responses are observed according to the COVID-19 severity in patients from Brazil an epicenter the pandemic in South America. Also, we notice that some cytokines can be used as predictive markers for the disease outcome, possibility implementation of strategies effective by health managers.

Safety and immunogenicity of 17DD attenuated yellow fever vaccine in howler monkeys (Alouatta spp.).

BACKGROUND: Alouatta spp. are highly susceptible to yellow fever (YF) infection and develop an often fatal disease. The threat posed by an outbreak started in 2016 leads us to investigate vaccination as a potential tool in preventing YF in non-human primates (NHP). METHODS: Susceptible howler monkeys were immunized with three different concentrations of the human Brazilian commercial YF17DD vaccine. Post-vaccination viremia/RNAemia, immunogenicity, and safety were characterized. RESULTS: The vaccine did not produce YF clinical manifestations in any of the NHPs. After immunization, all animals seroconverted demonstrating the ability of the YF vaccine to induce humoral response in Alouatta species. CONCLUSIONS: The present work has demonstrated the safe and immunogenic profile of the existing YF 17DD vaccine in howler monkeys. This knowledge may support further studies with other susceptible monkey species and provide a possible solution for controlling epizootics and preventing the devastation of endangered species.

In Vitro Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 Infection by Bovine Lactoferrin

Since its emergence in late 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been posing a serious threat to public health worldwide as the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Now distributed in a pandemic pattern, this disease still lacks an effective drug treatment with low toxicity, leading pharmaceutical companies and research labs to work against time to find a candidate molecule to efficiently treat the affected patients. Due to the well-known broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity of the lactoferrin protein, we sought to verify whether its bovine form (bLf) would also be effective in vitro against SARS-CoV-2. Using an antiviral assay based on quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), we found that bLf reduced progeny virus yield by up to [~]84,6% in African green monkey kidney epithelial cells (Vero E6) and [~]68,6% in adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells (A549) at 1 mg/mL, a concentration previously shown to have low cytotoxicity. Therefore, our preliminary data suggest that bLf has the potential to constitute a biochemical approach to fight the new coronavirus pandemic.

Inherited IFNAR1 deficiency in otherwise healthy patients with adverse reaction to measles and yellow fever live vaccines.

Vaccination against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and yellow fever (YF) with live attenuated viruses can rarely cause life-threatening disease. Severe illness by MMR vaccines can be caused by inborn errors of type I and/or III interferon (IFN) immunity (mutations in IFNAR2, STAT1, or STAT2). Adverse reactions to the YF vaccine have remained unexplained. We report two otherwise healthy patients, a 9-yr-old boy in Iran with severe measles vaccine disease at 1 yr and a 14-yr-old girl in Brazil with viscerotropic disease caused by the YF vaccine at 12 yr. The Iranian patient is homozygous and the Brazilian patient compound heterozygous for loss-of-function IFNAR1 variations. Patient-derived fibroblasts are susceptible to viruses, including the YF and measles virus vaccine strains, in the absence or presence of exogenous type I IFN. The patients' fibroblast phenotypes are rescued with WT IFNAR1 Autosomal recessive, complete IFNAR1 deficiency can result in life-threatening complications of vaccination with live attenuated measles and YF viruses in previously healthy individuals.

Different aspects of platelet evaluation in dengue: Measurement of circulating mediators, ability to interact with the virus, the degree of activation and quantification of intraplatelet protein content.

Platelets play a role in hemostasis, coagulation, angiogenesis, inflammation and immune response is one of the most affected cells in dengue. Here we describe some aspects of platelets by observing their specific circulating mediators, the ability to interact with the virus and morphological consequences of this interaction, activation markers and intraplatelet protein contents in dengue. We conducted this study using dengue-patients as well as healthy donors. Immunoenzymatic assay, flow cytometry, transmission electron microscopy and intraplatelet proteins expression assays were carried out. Briefly, we found an increase in sCD62L, NO or TBX2 ratio in platelet count, mostly in patients with the worse clinical outcome. After in vitro DENV infection or during natural infection, platelets underwent morphological alteration with increased expression of platelet activation markers, particularly in natural infections. Analysis of intraplatelet protein contents revealed different angiogenic and inflammatory profiles, maintaining or not extracellular matrix integrity between DF and DFWS patients. Thus, platelets are frequently affected by dengue, either by altering their own functionality, as "carrier" of the virus, or as an antiviral and mediator-secreting effector cell. Thus, strategies aimed at recovering platelet amounts in dengue seem to be essential for a better clinical outcome of the patients.

Avaliação do perfil de mediadores séricos e proteínas intraplaquetárias em relação à plaquetopenia em pacientes infectados pelo vírus dengue / Evaluation of serum mediators profile and intraplatelet proteins in respect to thrombocytopenia in patients infected with dengue virus

Plaquetas são fragmentos celulares derivados dos megacariócitos, que desempenham papel na hemostasia, coagulação, angiogênese, inflamação e resposta imune. Na infecção humana pelo Vírus Dengue (DENV), plaquetas constituem uma das populações celulares mais afetadas devido à plaquetopenia e disfunção plaquetária. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a influência de citocinas, quimiocina e fatores de crescimento séricos e de proteínas intraplaquetárias relacionadas à angiogênese, coagulação, regulação da matriz extracelular e inflamação na plaquetopenia de pacientes infectados pelo DENV. Para tal, realizamos: (i) estudo populacional de pacientes e obtenção de soro e plaquetas em 2013, (ii) ensaios multiplex de micrarranjo líquido para quantificação dos níveis séricos de citocinas, quimiocina e fatores de crescimento e (iii) ensaio de determinação do perfil de expressão 55 proteínas intraplaquetárias. Quarenta e três pacientes DENV foram confirmados, com predominância do DENV-4. Independente da forma clínica, pacientes DENV apresentaram níveis séricos elevados de IL-10, TNF-alfa, CXCL8/IL-8, mas não de IL-1beta e IFN-gama quando comparados aos controles sadios. Análises estatísticas demonstraram que níveis de IL-10 e IFN-gama apresentaram correlação, respectivamente inversa e direta com a contagem de plaquetas. Ainda, IL-10 diretamente com leucócitos e linfócitos e TNF-alfa com linfócitos. Vinte e cinco proteínas intraplaquetárias foram quantificadas, mas apenas cinco delas, PDGF-AA, TGF-beta1, HGF, IGFBP-1 e Angiopoetina-1, apresentaram correlação direta com a contagem de plaquetas nos pacientes DENV. A quantificação sérica de PDGF e VEGF demostrou que ambos estavam diminuídos no grupo DENV mais trombocitopênico...

Platelets are cell fragments derived from megakaryocytes, which play a role in hemostasis, coagulation, angiogenesis, inflammation and immune response. In human infection with dengue virus (DENV), platelets are one of the most affected cell populations due to thrombocytopeniaand platelet dysfunction. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of serum cytokines, chemokines, intraplatelet growth factors and proteins related to angiogenesis, coagulation, regulation of extracellular matrix and inflammation in thrombocytopenia of patientsinfected with DENV. For this purpose, we conducted: (i) population study of patients and obtaining their serum and platelets in 2013, (ii) liquid microarray multiplex assays for quantitationof serum levels of cytokines, chemokine, and growth factors, and (iii) assay for determiningexpression profile of 55 intraplapletelet proteins. Forty-three DENV patients were confirmed, with a predominance of DENV-4. Regardless of type of DENV, levels of IL-10, TNF-alfa, CXCL8 /IL-8, but not IL-1beta and IFN-gama were higher on serum of patients compared to healthy individuals. Statistical analyses showed that levels of IL-10 and IFN-gama presented correlation, respectively, inverse and direct with platelet count. Furthermore, IL-10 was directly correlated with leukocytes, lymphocytes, TNF-alfa and with lymphocytes. Twenty-five intraplatelet proteins were quantified, but only five of them, PDGF-AA, TGF-beta1, HGF, angiopoietin-1 and IGFBP-1 weredirectly correlated with platelet count in DENV patients. Both levels of PDGF and VEGF were decreased in group of DENV thrombocytopenic...