RESUMO
In this study, a recombinant chimeric protein (RCP), which was composed of specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell epitopes to murine and human haplotypes, was evaluated as an immunogen against Leishmania infantum infection in a murine model. BALB/c mice received saline were immunized with saponin or with RCP with or without an adjuvant. The results showed that RCP/saponin-vaccinated mice presented significantly higher levels of antileishmanial IFN-γ, IL-12 and GM-CSF before and after challenge, which were associated with the reduction of IL-4 and IL-10 mediated responses. These animals showed significant reductions in the parasite burden in all evaluated organs, when both limiting dilution and quantitative real-time PCR techniques were used. In addition, the protected animals presented higher levels of parasite-specific nitrite, as well as the presence of anti-Leishmania IgG2a isotype antibodies. In conclusion, the RCP/saponin vaccine could be considered as a prophylactic alternative to prevent against VL.
Assuntos
Linfócitos T CD4-Positivos/imunologia , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/imunologia , Epitopos de Linfócito T/imunologia , Leishmania infantum , Vacinas contra Leishmaniose/imunologia , Leishmaniose Visceral/prevenção & controle , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusão/imunologia , Adjuvantes Imunológicos/administração & dosagem , Animais , Feminino , Fator Estimulador de Colônias de Granulócitos e Macrófagos/metabolismo , Humanos , Imunogenicidade da Vacina , Interleucina-10/metabolismo , Interleucina-12/metabolismo , Interleucina-4/metabolismo , Leishmania infantum/imunologia , Vacinas contra Leishmaniose/genética , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusão/genética , Saponinas/imunologia , Vacinas Sintéticas/imunologiaRESUMO
Leptospirosis is caused by pathogenic bacteria of the genus Leptospira spp. This neglected re-emergent disease has global distribution and relevance in veterinary production. Here, we report the whole-genome sequence and annotation of Leptospira interrogans serovar Hardjo subtype Hardjoprajitno strain Norma, isolated from cattle in a livestock leptospirosis outbreak in Brazil.
RESUMO
Proteins containing repetitive amino acid domains are widespread in all life forms. In parasitic organisms, proteins containing repeats play important roles such as cell adhesion and invasion and immune evasion. Therefore, extracellular and intracellular parasites are expected to be under different selective pressures regarding the repetitive content in their genomes. Here, we investigated whether there is a bias in the repetitive content found in the predicted proteomes of 6 exclusively extracellular and 17 obligate intracellular protozoan parasites, as well as 4 free-living protists. We also attempted to correlate the results with the distinct ecological niches they occupy and with distinct protein functions. We found that intracellular parasites have higher repetitive content in their proteomes than do extracellular parasites and free-living protists. In intracellular parasites, these repetitive proteins are located mainly at the parasite surface or are secreted and are enriched in amino acids known to be part of N- and O-glycosylation sites. Furthermore, in intracellular parasites, the developmental stages that are able to invade host cells express a higher proportion of proteins with perfect repeats relative to other life cycle stages, and these proteins have molecular functions associated with cell invasion. In contrast, in extracellular parasites, degenerate repetitive motifs are enriched in proteins that are likely to play roles in evading host immune response. Altogether, our results support the hypothesis that both the ability to invade host cells and to escape the host immune response may have shaped the expansion and maintenance of perfect and degenerate repeats in the genomes of intra- and extracellular parasites.
Assuntos
Alveolados/genética , Amebozoários/genética , Diplomonadida/genética , Proteínas de Protozoários/genética , Trypanosomatina/genética , Alveolados/imunologia , Amebozoários/imunologia , Animais , Diplomonadida/imunologia , Interações Hospedeiro-Parasita , Humanos , Evasão da Resposta Imune/genética , Processamento de Proteína Pós-Traducional , Proteoma/química , Proteoma/genética , Proteoma/metabolismo , Proteínas de Protozoários/química , Proteínas de Protozoários/metabolismo , Sequências Repetitivas de Aminoácidos , Trypanosomatina/imunologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The identification of the psychological issues that impair the quality of life and the adherence to treatment in transplant candidates are important. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the presence of symptoms of depression and the quality of life of liver transplant candidates. METHODS: One hundred liver transplant candidates underwent a psychological analysis using the following instruments: the short form-36 (SF-36) quality of life questionnaire, the Beck depression inventory (BDI), and Structured Interviews for liver transplant candidates. RESULTS: Seventy-three (73%) of the patients were males. Interestingly, 63% of the patients were in a domestic partnership. At the time of the evaluation, 55 patients were not working due to illness, 27 patients were actively working, and 11 patients were retired. Importantly, fears related to the transplant (e.g., fear the surgery and of death) were identified in 38% of the patients. The data from this study demonstrated a significant negative correlation between depressive scores (BDI) and seven of the eight areas of quality of life (SF-36), such as functional capacity (r = .317, P = .0013), social aspects (r = -.469, P < .0001), economic aspects (r = -.319, P = .0012), and mental health (r = -.3832, P < .0001). CONCLUSION: The data indicated that the psychological aspects related to transplants require psychological intervention because they can affect the recuperation process, the quality of life, and the adherence to treatment for potential transplant patients.