Bacterial and parasite co-infection in Mexican golden trout (Oncorhynchus chrysogaster) by Aeromonas bestiarum, Aeromonas sobria, Plesiomonas shigelloides and Ichthyobodo necator.

BACKGROUND: Bacterial infections are responsible of high economic losses in aquaculture. Mexican golden trout (Oncorhynchus chrysogaster) is a threatened native trout species that has been introduced in aquaculture both for species conservation and breeding for production and for which no studies of bacterial infections have been reported. CASE PRESENTATION: Fish from juvenile stages of Mexican golden trout showed an infectious outbreak in a farm in co-culture with rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), showing external puntiform red lesions around the mouth and caudal pedunculus resembling furuncles by Aeromonas spp. and causing an accumulated mortality of 91%. Isolation and molecular identification of bacteria from lesions and internal organs showed the presence of Aeromonas bestiarum, Aeromonas sobria, Plesiomonas shigelloides and Ichthyobodo necator isolated from a single individual. All bacterial isolates were resistant to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and cefazoline. P. shigelloides was resistant to third generation ß-lactamics. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of coinfection by Aeromonas bestiarum, Aeromonas sobria, Plesiomonas shigelloides and Ichthyobodo necator in an individual of Mexican golden trout in co-culture with rainbow trout. Resistance to ß-lactams suggests the acquisition of genetic determinants from water contamination by human- or livestock-associated activities.

Skin temperature measurement in individuals with spinal cord injury during and after exercise: Systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Athletes with spinal cord injury (SCI) have difficulties in maintaining thermal homeostasis during exercise due to their lower sweat capacity and skin vasodilation. Skin temperature (Tsk) assessment, as opposed to core temperature, has become more widely accepted due to its non-invasive nature. The aims of this systematic review was to collate research studies that measured Tsk of individuals with SCI during or after exercise, study their Tsk response, taking into account the method employed, the environmental and exercise conditions, and to identify the different cooling strategies and their effect during exercise. METHODS: Pubmed, Web of Science and Scopus databases were searched to identify the articles published since year 2000. Two reviewers working independently extracted data and assessed the quality of the articles included. If they disagreed, a third reviewer was consulted. ROBINS-I scale was used to assess the quality of the articles, and the review has been conducted in agreement with PRISMA guidelines. RESULTS: Twenty studies were included in this review. 84% of them presented moderate, serious or critical risk of bias. The entire of the studies assessed Tsk during exercise, but only seven studies measured it during rest or after exercise. Eighteen studies used contact thermometry to assess Tsk and the two remaining studies employed non-contact techniques. Seven studies were conducted in warm conditions (>31.5°C) and the remaining studies in moderate conditions (10°C to 26.6°C). According to cooling strategies, ice vests and water spray are effective in reducing Tsk and decreasing the risk of heat stroke. CONCLUSIONS: The 90% of the studies applied contact thermometry and due to their effect in the data assessed, it is necessary more research into the SCI population using infrared thermography due to its differences in characteristics, methodology, and applications. The methodological differences among studies make difficult to perform a meta-analysis.

A Survey of Software-Defined Networks-on-Chip: Motivations, Challenges and Opportunities.

Current computing platforms encourage the integration of thousands of processing cores, and their interconnections, into a single chip. Mobile smartphones, IoT, embedded devices, desktops, and data centers use Many-Core Systems-on-Chip (SoCs) to exploit their compute power and parallelism to meet the dynamic workload requirements. Networks-on-Chip (NoCs) lead to scalable connectivity for diverse applications with distinct traffic patterns and data dependencies. However, when the system executes various applications in traditional NoCs-optimized and fixed at synthesis time-the interconnection nonconformity with the different applications' requirements generates limitations in the performance. In the literature, NoC designs embraced the Software-Defined Networking (SDN) strategy to evolve into an adaptable interconnection solution for future chips. However, the works surveyed implement a partial Software-Defined Network-on-Chip (SDNoC) approach, leaving aside the SDN layered architecture that brings interoperability in conventional networking. This paper explores the SDNoC literature and classifies it regarding the desired SDN features that each work presents. Then, we described the challenges and opportunities detected from the literature survey. Moreover, we explain the motivation for an SDNoC approach, and we expose both SDN and SDNoC concepts and architectures. We observe that works in the literature employed an uncomplete layered SDNoC approach. This fact creates various fertile areas in the SDNoC architecture where researchers may contribute to Many-Core SoCs designs.

Structural Reassignment of rel-(3'Z,3R,6R,7R,3a'R,6'R)-3,8-Dihydrodiligustilide and the Activity of Diligustilide and 3,8-Dihydro- and 3,8,7',7a'-Tetrahydrodiligustilides as Progestins.

Several phthalides were semisynthesized, including a 3,8-dihydrodiligustilide with progesterone-like activity, previously isolated from Ligusticum chuanxiong, the structure of which was earlier assigned to a semisynthetic product with nonidentical spectroscopic constants. The structure of this natural phthalide was reassigned with a proposal of its absolute configuration. Phthalides acted as progestins in cell viability assays, immunofluorescence microscopy, and docking analysis. Therefore, the structures for natural and semisynthetic phthalides with potential use in hormone-related therapies were reassigned.

Chemo-sensitizing activity of natural cadinanes from Heterotheca inuloides in human uterine sarcoma cells and their in silico interaction with ABC transporters.

Sensitizing activities exerted by 3,4-dihydro-7-hydroxycadalene (1), rac-3,7-dihydroxy-3(4H)-isocadalen-4-one (4) and (1R,4R)-4H-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1-hydroxycadalen-15-oic acid (9), the major cadinanes isolated from Heterotheca inuloides, towards multidrug-resistant MES-SA/MX2 and parental MES-SA epithelial human uterine sarcoma cell lines were evaluated. We also evaluated the in silico interactions (expressed as ΔGbinding in kcal/mol) of cadinanes 1, 4 and 9 in an in vitro assay, and also tested several structurally related natural compounds with the multidrug resistance protein (MDR1, P-glycoprotein), human multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1), and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) structures as pharmacological targets using AutoDock and AutoDock Vina. Compound 1 potentiated the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin and mitoxantrone drugs in resistant MES-SA/MX2 cells, compared to cells treated with each drug alone. Compound 1 could reverse the resistance to doxorubicin 12.44 fold at a concentration of 5 µM. It also re-sensitized cells to mitoxantrone 3.94 fold. Hence, compound 1 may be considered as a potential chemosensitizing agent to overcome multidrug resistance in cancer. The docking analysis suggested that there are interactions between cadinanes from H. inuloides and MDR1, MRP1, and BCRP proteins mainly through π-π interactions and hydrogen bonds.

Phthalides: Distribution in Nature, Chemical Reactivity, Synthesis, and Biological Activity.

Phthalides are a relatively small group of natural compounds confined to several plant families and some genera of fungi and liverworts. They are divided into two structural groups, the monomeric and dimeric phthalides, and known mainly as bioactive constituents of different plant species used traditionally for medicinal purposes in Asia, Europe, and North America.The first reports on the chemistry of phthalides appeared at the end of the nineteenth century, in which they were identified as the odor constituents of the essential oil of celery (Apium graveolens) by Ciamician and Silber (1897). In the first half of the last century, phthalides were isolated from Cnidium officinale and Ligusticum acutilobum, species widely used in Asian traditional medicine, and from Levisticum officinale, a species used as food and condiment. Throughout the second part of the twentieth century, phthalides have been characterized from several plant families, namely Asteraceae, Leguminosae, Orchidaceae and Rutaceae, among others, but mainly from the Umbelliferae (syn Apiaceae) family, and the major contributors have been the following species used in traditional medicine: Ligusticum chuanxiong (Chinese name: Chuanxiong), Angelica sinensis (Chinese name: Danggui), Cnidium officinale (Japanese name: Senkyu), Angelica acutiloba (Japanese name: Toki), and Ligusticum porteri (Hispanic name: Oshá). Phthalides are also constituents of several genera of fungi, such as Penicillium, Alternaria and Pestalotiopsis, and some liverworts.Different chromatographic, spectrometric, and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques have been used for the isolation and structural characterization of phthalides in extracts, and for assessing the quality of plant material containing this type of compound. Isotopic labeling has established the biosynthesis of phthalides via linkage of acetate units forming polyketide intermediates.Chemical transformations of monomeric phthalides have included oxidation, reduction, addition, elimination, and cycloaddition reactions, and treatments with Lewis acids of (Z)-ligustilide have afforded linear dimers. Some intramolecular condensations and differentiated cyclizations of the dimeric phthalides have been carried out, providing evidences for the particular chemical reactivity of these compounds.Several structural modifications of phthalides have been carried out subjecting them to microbial transformations by different species of bacteria, fungi and algae, and these included resolutions of racemic mixtures and oxidations, among others.The [π4s + π2s] and [π2s + π2s] cycloadditions of (Z)-ligustilide for the synthesis of dimeric phthalides have been reported, and different approaches involving cyclizations, Alder-Rickert reactions, Sharpless asymmetric hydroxylations, or Grignard additions have been used for the synthesis of monomeric phthalides. The use of phthalides as building blocks for divergent oriented synthesis has been proven.Many of the naturally occurring phthalides display different biological activities including antibacterial, antifungal, insecticidal, cytotoxic, and anti-inflammatory effects, among many others, with a considerable recent research on the topic. In the case of compounds isolated from the Apiaceae, the bioactivities correlate with the traditional medicinal uses of the natural sources. Some monomeric phthalides have shown their ability to attenuate certain neurological diseases, including stroke, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.The present contribution covers the distribution of phthalides in nature and the findings in the structural diversity, chemical reactivity, biotransformations, syntheses, and bioactivity of natural and semisynthetic phthalides.

Tratamiento combinado aplicado en parálisis cerebral infantil: presentación de un caso / Combined treatment applied in cerebral palsy: case report

Introducción. Es importante determinar una fisioterapia adecuada para las personas que presentan discapacidad de por vida, como es el caso de la parálisis cerebral (PC). El objetivo fue estudiar el efecto de la aplicación de terapia física combinada en las habilidades motoras gruesas. Descripción del caso. Se describe el caso clínico de una niña de 12 años diagnosticada de tetraparesia espástica tras PC y con déficit en las funciones cognitivas. Intervención. Durante 35 semanas se aplicó terapia física combinada que incluyó estiramientos, entrenamiento de la fuerza, equilibrio, trabajo de marcha en suspensión parcial y terapia miofascial. La evaluación se ha llevado a cabo al inicio y al final del tratamiento con el Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM).Resultados y discusión: Se han observado mejorías clínicas en las dimensiones evaluadas con el GMFM. En el caso de la ‘bipedestación’ (de 17,95 por ciento al inicio a28,21 por ciento al final) y en la dimensión ‘caminar,correr y saltar’ (de 5,56 por ciento al inicio a 19,44 por ciento al final). Si bien las técnicas fisioterápicas utilizadas han demostrado ser útiles aplicadas de forma aislada, hemos observado que su uso combinado mejora la función motora gruesa en el caso presentado.

Background and Purpose. For people suffering from a lifelong disability such as cerebral palsy (CP), establishing an appropriate physiotherapy treatment is of great concern. The aim was to study the effect on gross motor skills of the application of a combined physical therapy. Case description. A case report of a 12-year-old female patient with a diagnosis of spastic tetraparesis after CP, who also showed a cognitive function disorder, is reported. Intervention. A combined physical therapy treatment was applied during 35 weeks. The protocol consisted of stretching, training of muscle resistance, balance, reeducation of gait in partial suspensión and myofascial therapy. Baseline and postintervention assessments were carried out by means of the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM). Results and discussion: A clinical improvement was observed in those dimensions of the GMFM which were lower rated at baseline. The dimension ‘standing’ (from 17,95 percent pre-intervention to 28,21 percent post-intervention) and the dimension ‘walking, running and jumping’ (from 5,56 percent pre-intervention to 19,44 percent postintervention). Though the proposed physiotherapy techniques have been shown to be useful separately, when combined, it was observed that the gross motor function clinically improved in our patient.

Label-free detection of Staphylococcus aureus in skin using real-time potentiometric biosensors based on carbon nanotubes and aptamers.

In this paper we report the first biosensor that is able to detect Staphylococcus aureus in real-time. A network of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) acts as an ion-to-electron potentiometric transducer and anti-S. aureus aptamers are the recognition element. Carbon nanotubes were functionalized with aptamers using two different approaches: (1) non-covalent adsorption of drop-casted pyrenil-modified aptamers onto the external walls of the SWCNTs; and (2) covalent bond formation between amine-modified aptamers and carboxylic groups previously introduced by oxidation at the ends of the SWCNTs. Both of these approaches yielded functional biosensors but there were large differences in the minimum detectable bacteria concentration and sensitivity values. With covalent functionalization, the minimum concentration detected was 8×10(2)colony-forming units (CFU)/mL and the sensitivity was 0.36 mV/Decade. With the non-covalent approach, the sensitivity was higher (1.52 mV/Decade) but the minimum concentration detected was greatly affected (10(7) CFU/mL). In both cases, potential as a function of Decade of bacteria concentration was linear. Functional biosensors were used to test real samples from freshly excised pig skin, contaminated with the target microorganism, as a surrogate for human skin.

[Fetal echocardiography efficiency. Clinical experience]. / Eficacia de la ecocardiografía fetal. Experiencia clínica.

BACKGROUND: Congenital heart disease diagnostic has a high diagnostic precision with fetal echocardiography. This study has been reported in populations with high risk and with a sensibility of 86 to 99% and specificity of 91 to 100%. OBJECTIVE: To know sensibility and specificity of fetal echocardiography in high-risk pregnancies, and to describe types and frequency of congenital heart disease in utero. MATERIAL AND METHOD: 229 files of pregnant women with high-risk factors, more than 15 weeks of gestation, and at birth cardiovascular exam were analyzed. This analysis was made by means of simple frequencies, sensibility, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, and truth index calculation. RESULTS: We found 62 (27%) cases with fetal heart disease. Mean of maternal age was 27 +/- 5.5 years, and of gestational age 31 +/- 5 weeks. Risk factors that require study were: four-chamber abnormality in routine ultrasound, dysmorphy, fetal bradicardia, and poll and oligohydramnios. There were 55 (88.7%) high-risk heart diseases, and most frequent were Ebstein's anomaly, unique ventricle, hypoplastic left ventricle syndrome, and tumors. Sensibility was 98.41%, specificity was 97.59%, positive prognostic value was 97.59%, and negative prognostic value was 99.39%. CONCLUSIONS: Fetal echocardiography has a high diagnosis certainty in our hospital unit, thus, it has to be a normal prenatal exam in pregnant women with high-risk factors.

[Endomyocardial biopsy. Revision and experience of 176 procedures]. / Biopsia endomiocárdica. Revisión y experiencia de 176 procedimientos.

Endomyocardial biopsy (EB) is often used in the clinical evaluation of several cardiac disease. Hundred-seventy-six consecutive procedures were performed in 65 patients, 43 men and 22 women mean age was 29.86 +/- 11.53 (range 4 days to 66 years). Group A, 26 postcardiac transplantation patients in whom 137 EB were performed (39 heterotopic and 98 orthotopic), average sample 5.2 biopsy for each patient. Group B (n = 39) was studied for several cardiac diseases during cardiac diagnostic catheterism. The jugular venous approach was performed in 3 patients (1.7%), femoral in 173 patients. Major complications were found in 3 (1.7%) cases consisting in cerebrovascular accident (stroke) and coronary fistula into the right ventricle. Endomyocardial biopsy provides a low incidence of adverse reactions, mortality was 0%.

Biopsia endomiocárdica: revisión y experiencia de 176 procedimientos / Endomyocardial biopsy: revision and experience of 176 procedures

Endomyocardial biopsy (EB) is often used in the clinical evaluation of several cardiac disease. Hundred-seventy-six consecutive procedures were performed in 65 patients, 43 men and 22 women mean age was 29.86 +/- 11.53 (range 4 days to 66 years). Group A, 26 postcardiac transplantation patients in whom 137 EB were performed (39 heterotopic and 98 orthotopic), average sample 5.2 biopsy for each patient. Group B (n = 39) was studied for several cardiac diseases during cardiac diagnostic catheterism. The jugular venous approach was performed in 3 patients (1.7%), femoral in 173 patients. Major complications were found in 3 (1.7%) cases consisting in cerebrovascular accident (stroke) and coronary fistula into the right ventricle. Endomyocardial biopsy provides a low incidence of adverse reactions, mortality was 0%.

[Right ventricular thrombous and pulmonary artery aneurysms in Behçet's disease. Report of one case]. / Trombo en ventriculo derecho y aneurismas de arterias pulmonares en enfermedad de Behçet. Reporte de un caso.

UNLABELLED: Behçet's disease uncommon in the pediatric population. Intracardiac thrombus and bilateral pulmonary artery aneurysms are uncommon manifestations. We are reporting one case. A 14 years old patient was admitted, with high fever, dyspnea and hemoptysis since 4 months ago. Two years ago, fever, oral ulcers, aphthae (gingival, palate, tonsils), nose ulceration in and arthralgias-arthritis were noted. Chest radiograph showed round mass in the right lower lung field. The chest tomographic computed scan and pulmonary centellography were done to investigate malformations arterial. An Intracardiac thrombus of 27 x 12 mm was identified in the right ventricle by transthoracic echocardiography. Catheterization and pulmonary angiography showed an aneurism located in the right and left lobares arteries. Medical management with immunosuppressive and anticoagulation therapy resulted in complete remission of the clinical manifestations. Due to heamodynamic compromise surgical removal of the intracardiac thrombus was done. IN SUMMARY: The Behçet's disease is rare disease in children. Intracardiac thrombus and bilateral pulmonary artery aneurysms are rare complications. Medical treatment (immunosupressive and anticoagulation) is the first line therapy with resolution of the mucous, skin, cardiac and pulmonary manifestations.

Trombo en ventriculo derecho y aneurismas de arterias pulmonares en enfermedad de Behçet: reporte de un caso / Right ventricular thrombous and pulmonary artery aneurysms in Behçet's disease: report of one case

Behçet's disease uncommon in the pediatric population. Intracardiac thrombus and bilateral pulmonary artery aneurysms are uncommon manifestations. We are reporting one case. A 14 years old patient was admitted, with high fever, dyspnea and hemoptysis since 4 months ago. Two years ago, fever, oral ulcers, aphthae (gingival, palate, tonsils), nose ulceration in and arthralgias-arthritis were noted. Chest radiograph showed round mass in the right lower lung field. The chest tomographic computed scan and pulmonary centellography were done to investigate malformations arterial. An Intracardiac thrombus of 27 x 12 mm was identified in the right ventricle by transthoracic echocardiography. Catheterization and pulmonary angiography showed an aneurism located in the right and left lobares arteries. Medical management with immunosuppressive and anticoagulation therapy resulted in complete remission of the clinical manifestations. Due to heamodynamic compromise surgical removal of the intracardiac thrombus was done. IN SUMMARY: The Behçet's disease is rare disease in children. Intracardiac thrombus and bilateral pulmonary artery aneurysms are rare complications. Medical treatment (immunosupressive and anticoagulation) is the first line therapy with resolution of the mucous, skin, cardiac and pulmonary manifestations.

Títulos de anticuerpos antisulfátido en pacientes con cardiopatía chagásica crónica y con otras formas de cardiopatía / Antisulfatide antibody titers in patients with chronic Chagas heart disease and other forms of heart disease

Aún no se ha podido encontrar un tratamiento específico para la enfermedad de Chagas, a pesar de su endemicidad en extensas zonas de la Región de las Américas. En estudios anteriores se ha propuesto la posibilidad de que el galactocerebrósido sulfatado presente en Trypanosoma cruzi podría actuar como inmunógeno para producir las concentraciones elevadas de anticuerpos antisulfátido que se han encontrado en pacientes con infección crónica por ese parásito. Ese fenómeno podría ser importante en la patogenia de los síntomas cardíacos o del sistema nervioso periférico que caracteriza a la enfermedad de Chagas, que es la primera causa de miocarditis en Centroamérica y América del Sur y la segunda causa de insuficiencia cardíaca en algunos países de esas subregiones. El presente estudio se realizó con objeto de determinar si había diferencia entre pacientes con la enfermedad de Chagas y otros pacientes sin la enfermedad con respecto a la presencia de anticuerpos antisulfátido y describe las concentraciones de anticuerpos antisulfátido que se encontraron en 124 pacientes (74 hombres y 50 mujeres) de 15 a 94 años de edad hospitalizados en el Servicio de Cardiología del Hospital Vargas de Caracas, durante el período del 1 de julio de 1993 al 30 de junio de 1995. Los títulos de anticuerpos antisulfátido se midieron con la técnica del inmunoensayo enzimático (ELISA) usando como antígeno cerebrósido sulfatado obtenido de cerebro de bovino. De los 124 pacientes estudiados, 39 (31,5 por ciento) eran chagásicos y mostraron títulos de anticuerpos antisulfátido más altos que los 85 no chagásicos (P= 0,0298) y que un grupo control de 28 sujetos aparentemente sanos (P = 0,0035). Las concentraciones séricas de anticuerpos antisulfátido en pacientes con otras formas de cardiopatía también se compararon con las del grupo control y se encontraron títulos significativamente altos en sujetos con cardiopatía isquémica aguda (P = 0,0049), cardiopatía valvular reumática (P = 0,0075), cardiopatía isquémica crónica (P = 0,0464) y bradiarritmias (P = 0,0157) y valores significativamente bajos en sujetos con cardiopatía hipertensiva (P = 0,0367). Las concentraciones de dichos anticuerpos no se correlacionaron con variables clínicas o paraclínicas indicadoras del grado de afección cardíaca. Los resultados corroboran que los anticuerpos antisulfátido podrían desempeñar algún papel en la patogenia de la cardiomiopatía chagásica y de otras formas de cardiopatía y deben continuarse investigando hasta determinar su posible función en esos procesos

Títulos de anticuerpos antisulfátido en pacientes con cardiopatía chagásica crónica y con otras formas de cardiopatía / Antisulfatide antibody titers in patients with chronic Chagas heart disease and other forms of heart disease

Aún no se ha podido encontrar un tratamiento específico para la enfermedad de Chagas, a pesar de su endemicidad en extensas zonas de la Región de las Américas. En estudios anteriores se ha propuesto la posibilidad de que el galactocerebrósido sulfatado presente en Trypanosoma cruzi podría actuar como inmunógeno para producir las concentraciones elevadas de anticuerpos antisulfátido que se han encontrado en pacientes con infección crónica por ese parásito. Ese fenómeno podría ser importante en la patogenia de los síntomas cardíacos o del sistema nervioso periférico que caracteriza a la enfermedad de Chagas, que es la primera causa de miocarditis en Centroamérica y América del Sur y la segunda causa de insuficiencia cardíaca en algunos países de esas subregiones. El presente estudio se realizó con objeto de determinar si había diferencia entre pacientes con la enfermedad de Chagas y otros pacientes sin la enfermedad con respecto a la presencia de anticuerpos antisulfátido y describe las concentraciones de anticuerpos antisulfátido que se encontraron en 124 pacientes (74 hombres y 50 mujeres) de 15 a 94 años de edad hospitalizados en el Servicio de Cardiología del Hospital Vargas de Caracas, durante el período del 1 de julio de 1993 al 30 de junio de 1995. Los títulos de anticuerpos antisulfátido se midieron con la técnica del inmunoensayo enzimático (ELISA) usando como antígeno cerebrósido sulfatado obtenido de cerebro de bovino. De los 124 pacientes estudiados, 39 (31,5 por ciento) eran chagásicos y mostraron títulos de anticuerpos antisulfátido más altos que los 85 no chagásicos (P= 0,0298) y que un grupo control de 28 sujetos aparentemente sanos (P = 0,0035). Las concentraciones séricas de anticuerpos antisulfátido en pacientes con otras formas de cardiopatía también se compararon con las del grupo control y se encontraron títulos significativamente altos en sujetos con cardiopatía isquémica aguda (P = 0,0049), cardiopatía valvular reumática (P = 0,0075), cardiopatía isquémica crónica (P = 0,0464) y bradiarritmias (P = 0,0157) y valores significativamente bajos en sujetos con cardiopatía hipertensiva (P = 0,0367). Las concentraciones de dichos anticuerpos no se correlacionaron con variables clínicas o paraclínicas indicadoras del grado de afección cardíaca. Los resultados corroboran que los anticuerpos antisulfátido podrían desempeñar algún papel en la patogenia de la cardiomiopatía chagásica

A specific treatment for Chagas' disease has not yet been discovered, even though the condition is endemic in large parts of the Region of the Americas. Earlier studies have addressed the possibility that the sulfatide galactocerebroside in Trypanosoma cruzi behaves as an immunogen involved in the production of the high antisulfatide antibody levels found in patients with chronic infestation with the parasite. This may be an important factor in the pathogenesis of the cardiac symptoms and peripheral neuropathy seen in Chagas' disease, which is the most important cause of myocarditis in Central and South America and the second most important cause of heart failure in several of the countries located in these subregions. The present study was conducted in order to ascertain whether patients with Chagas' disease and other patients not afflicted with the ailment differ insofar as the presence of antibodies against sulfatide is concerned, and it describes antisulfatide antibody levels in 124 hospital patients (74 men and 50 women) between the ages of 15 and 94 who were in the cardiology unit of Vargas Hospital in Caracas from 1 July to 30 June 1995. Antisulfatide antibody titers were determined by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), and the antigen employed was sulfatide cerebroside obtained from bovine brain tissue. Of the 124 patients under study, 39 (31,5%) suffered from Chagas' disease and had antisulfatide antibody levels higher than those detected in patients without Chagas (P = 0,0298) and in 28 seemingly healthy controls (P = 0,0035). Serum levels of antisulfatide antibodies in patients with other forms of heart disease were also compared with those seen in the control group, and significantly higher levels were found in patients with acute ischemic heart disease (P = 0,0049), rheumatic valvular heart disease (P = 0,0075), chronic ischemic heart disease (P = 0,0464) and bradiarrythmias (P = 0,0157), and significantly lower ones in subjects with hypertensive heart disease (P = 0,0367). These antibody levels showed no correlation with clinical or paraclinical variables indicative of the degree of cardiac compromise. Our results support the notion that antibodies against sulfatide may play a role in the pathogenesis of Chagas' cardiomyopathy and other forms of heart disease and should be further studied in an effort to determine their potential role in these processes

Inmunorreactividad contra los editopos Gal (alfa 1-2) Gal y Gal (alfa 1-3)Gal en suero de pacientes con cáncer / Immunoreativity against the editopes Gal (alfa 1-2) Gal and Gal (alfa 1-3) Gal in patient of serum with neoplasm

En la última década se ha descrito un anticuerpo natural de la clase G que interactúa con residuos de galactosil (alfa 1-3) galactosa presentes en las membranas célulares de ciertos mamíferos denominados antigal, cuya producción en el hombre es resultado de la estimulación antigénica constante por la flora gastrointestinal. Sólidas evidencias indican que antigal interviene en la eliminación de eritrocitos senescentes y patológicos, en la lisis de formas infectantes de T.cruzi y Leishmania y un papel aún no bien definido en la destrucción de células neoplásicas. En los años recientes ha sido descrito otro anticuerpo que reacciona con un residuo químicamente diferente, gal(alfa 1-2)gal con grados diferentes de especificidad y presente en valores elevados en pacientes con enfermedad de Chagas crónica, no existiendo aun conocimiento de su inmunorreactividad en pacientes con cáncer. En el presente estudio se midieron los niveles de anticuerpos antigal(alfa 1-2)gal y antigal(alfa 1-3)gal por ELISA en 57 pacientes con cáncer: cuello uterino (n=27), mama (n=15), pulmón (n=9) y tracto gastrointestinal (n=6). Se encontraron niveles altos de antigal(alfa 1-2)gal en 42 oor ciento de los pacientes, entre 2-2.5 veces el valor medio del control. No hubo diferencias entre los grupos ni entre las formas in situ e invasivos de cáncer de cuello uterino. De manera similar, valores altos de antigal(alfa 1-3)gal se encontraron en 36 por ciento de los pacientes (rango: 0-47 por ciento), 2-4 veces superiores a la media control. Aunque estadísticamente significativa, la diferencia estre las medias en este caso no fue relevante. Nuevamente no hallamos diferencia al comparar los niveles de antigal(alfa 1-2)gal y antigal(alfa 1-3)gal entre el cáncer de cuello uterino in situ y los estadios invasores. Se halló correlación significativa entre ambas Igs y esta tendencia se mantuvo en las enfermas con cáncer de cuello uterino, más no así en el resto de los pacientes, lo cual sugiere un patrón inmune distinto. Así, se detectaron niveles altos de anticuerpos antigal(alfa 1-2)gal y antigal(alfa 1-3)gal en una proporción de pacientes con neoplasias de diferente localización anatómica; este aumento puede deberse a la expresión de estos determinantes en las células tumorales, y aunque su significado no está claro todavía, esto reflejaría la existencia de subpoblaciones de células neoplásicas, grados diversos de inmunomodulación de su parte y/o variabilidad en la afinidad entre estas inmunoglobulinas y sus epitopos correspondientes en las células malignas

Enfermedad de chagas: evidencia de mimetismo molecular entre Trypanosoma Cruzi y tejidos nerviosos del huesped / Chagas disease: evidences of molecular mimetisn between Trypanosoma Cruzy and tessue nervons of the host

Continuamente se presentan nuevas evidenicas que sugieren que la patología de la fase crónica de la Enfermedad de Chagas es de naturaleza autoinmune. Así, se han descrito anticuerpos y células T autoreactivos con ciertos órganos de pacientes chagásicos. Existen dos mecanismos que podrían producir autoinmunidad en esta enfermedad: a) la infección parasitaria produciría una alteración de la inmunoregulación, lo cual conduciría a una pérdida de tolerancia hacia antígenos propios. b) reconocimiento inmune de algunos antígenos de Tripanosoma cruzi que darían reacción cruzada con ciertos antígenos delmamífero huesped, lo que produciría autoinmunidad (mimetismo molecular). Por medio de este último mecanismo, antígenos de T. cruzi que comparten epitopos similares presentes en el sistema nervioso, podrían iniciar la expansión de clonos de linfocitos T o B autocreativos lo que produciría autoinmunidad en pacientes con Enfermedad de Chagas crónica. Se han estudiado distintos antígenos con estas características y se han encontrado algunas proteínas, como por ejemplo la proteína de superficie asociada al flegelo (F1-160), la cual tiene un epitopo de dose amino ácidos que tiene reacción cruzada con tejido nervioso. Adicionalmente se ha reportado que la proteína de superficie tripomastigote-específica de peso molecular 85-kDa (Gp85) posee residuos terminales galactosil (alfa 1-3) galactosa, reactivos con suero de pacientes chagásicos crónicos. Se han reportado antígenos comunes en glucolípidos, como por ejemplo galactocerebrosidos, sulfoglucuronilcerebrosidos y sulfogalactocerebrosidos, todos ellos presentes en altas concentraciones, específicamente en el sistema nervioso y en tripomastigotes de T. cruzi. Los pacientes chagásicos crónicos tienen niveles elevados de anticuerpos contra estos tres glucolípidos. También los tienen contra residuos terminales galactosil (alfa 1-3) galactosa, presentes en diversos glucolípidos ácidos y neutros tanto del sistema nervioso como del parásito. Estos anticuerpos son altamente líticos contra formas circulantes de tripomastigotes de T. cruzi. Otros residuos inmunogénicos comunes son los epitopos galactosil (alfa 1-2) galactosil (alfa 1-6) galactosa y galactofuranosil (ß 1-3) manosa de varios glicoinositolfosfolípidos hacia los cuales los pacientes chagásicos crónicos poseen altos niveles de anticuerpos específicos. En resumen, una relación huesped-parásito muy específica, existente sólo en la Enfermedad de Chagas, podría explicar el daño al sistema nervioso periférico que existe en los estadios agudos y crónicos de esta enfermedad. Esta especificidad dependería de la invasión de los ganglios nerviosos periféricos por los tripomastigotes de T. cruzi y por modificaciones de la estructura superficial de las células nerviosas a través de alguno de los mecanismos de mimetismo molecular adquirido

Molecular mimicry between Trypanosoma cruzi and host nervous tissues

Increasing evidence suggests that in Chagas' disease chronic-phase pathology is autoimmune in nature. There are at least two nonexclusive explanations for the generation of autoimmunity in Chagas disease: a) infection with the parasite perturbs immunoregulation, leading to loss of tolerance for self-antigens; b) immune recognition of T. cruzi antigens is crossreactive with selected mammalian antigens, leading to autoimmunity (molecular mimicry). Through this latter mechanism, T. cruzi antigens that share epitopes with mammalian nervous tissue may drive autoreactive B- or T-cell clones to expand and cause autoimmune lesions in chronic chagasic patients. Several different antigens sharing this characteristic have been studied, as for example the 160-kDa flagellum-associated surface protein (Fl-160), which has a nervous tissue crossreactive epitope composed by twelve amino acids. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that a trypomastigote stage-specific 85kDa surface glycoprotein (Gp85) has terminal galactosyl(alpha 1-3)galactose terminal residues, which are reactive with chronic chagasic sera. Common glycolipid antigens have also been reported, as for example galactocerebroside, sulfogalactocerebroside and sulfoglucuronylcerebroside, all of them specifically present at high concentrations in mammalian nervous system and in T. cruzi trypomastigotes. Chronic chagasic patients produce elevated levels of antibodies against these three glycolipid antigens. They also do against terminal galactosyl(alpha 1-3)galactose residues present on several acid and neutral glycolipids common either to nervous system or parasite. These antibodies are powerful lytic for circulating T. cruzi trypomastigotes. Another common strongly immunogenic residues are galactosyl(alpha 1-2)galactose, galactosyl(alpha 1-6)galactose and galactofuranosyl(beta 1-3)mannose residues present on several glycoinositolphospholipids (GIPL), against which chronic chagasic patients have elevated levels of specific antibodies. In brief, very specific host-parasite relationships existing only in Chagas' disease may explain the particular peripheral nervous tissue damage seen in acute or chronic stages of this disease. This specificity could depend either on invasion of autonomic ganglia by T. cruzi trypomastigotes and modification of nervous cell surface structures by some of the several mechanisms of acquired molecular mimicry

Detección de anticuerpos al virus de la encefalitis equina venezolana en equidos de los distritos Mara y Páez de la Guajira venezolana. 1984. I. Evaluación prevacunal / Venezuelan equine encephalitis. Antibodies detection in equidae from the Guajira venezolana, Mara and Páez districts. 1984. Prevacunal evaluation

Con el propósito de conocer el estado inmunológico de la población de equidos de los Distritos Mara y Páez de la Guajira Venezolana en relación al virus de la Encefalitis Equina Venezolana, fueron obtenidos entre mayo y junio de 1984, muestras de sangre de 236 equidos procedentes de los Distritos Mara (126) y Páez (110). Inmediatamente después fueron inoculados con 2 ml de la vacuna TC-83 (virus vivo modificado de encefalitis equina venezolana (EEV). Vecol/Colombia). De las muestras procesadas (221), el 53% correspondió a equinos, el 43.6% asnales y 3.4% mulares. El 53% mostró títulos inhibidores de la hemaglutinación (IHA) mayores de 1:20 en la muestra previa a la vacunación a expensas principalmente de los animales con antecedentes de vacunación. La mayoría de los títulos IHA estuvieron entre 1:20 y 1:640. Se demostró que para ese año el 53% de la población de equidos del Distrito Mara y Páez, presentaban anticuerpos contra EEV