RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is sexually transmitted and causes persistent infection. This virus induces activation of the immune system and production of inflammatory cytokines. This study aimed to assess the cytokine profile and cytopathological findings in the cervicovaginal fluid of asymptomatic HTLV-1-infected women. METHODS: HTLV-1-infected and uninfected women were selected at the Centro de Atendimento ao Portador de HTLV in Salvador-Brazil. None of the included HTLV-1-infected women reported any HTLV-1-associated diseases. All volunteers underwent gynecological examination to collect cervicovaginal fluid. Cytokine quantification was performed using the Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) Human Th1/Th2/Th17 kit. Light microscopy was used to evaluate cervicovaginal cytopathology. In addition, proviral load in cervicovaginal fluid and peripheral blood was measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: 112 women (63 HTLV-1-infected and 49 uninfected) were evaluated. No differences were found with respect to cytopathological cervicovaginal findings between the groups. IL-2, TNF, IL-4, IL-10, and IL-17 levels were significantly higher in cervicovaginal fluid of the HTLV-1-infected women than in uninfected women (p<0.05). Conversely, IFN-γ was found to be lower in the HTLV-1-infected women (p<0.001) compared to uninfected individuals. Cervicovaginal proviral load was detectable in 53% of the HTLV-1-infected women and was found to be consistently lower than the proviral load in peripheral blood. CONCLUSIONS: HTLV-1 infection induces immune activation in cervicovaginal environment, characterized by elevated concentrations of Th1, Th2, and IL17 in the cervicovaginal fluid.
Assuntos
Líquidos Corporais/química , Colo do Útero/patologia , Citocinas/análise , Infecções por HTLV-I/patologia , Vagina/patologia , Adulto , Líquidos Corporais/imunologia , Colo do Útero/imunologia , Colo do Útero/virologia , Estudos Transversais , Ensaio de Imunoadsorção Enzimática , Feminino , Infecções por HTLV-I/imunologia , Infecções por HTLV-I/virologia , Vírus Linfotrópico T Tipo 1 Humano/isolamento & purificação , Humanos , Interleucina-17/imunologia , Leucócitos Mononucleares/virologia , Classe Social , Estatísticas não Paramétricas , Células Th1/imunologia , Células Th2/imunologia , Vagina/imunologia , Vagina/virologia , Carga ViralRESUMO
ABSTRACT Introduction: Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is sexually transmitted and causes persistent infection. This virus induces activation of the immune system and production of inflammatory cytokines. This study aimed to assess the cytokine profile and cytopathological findings in the cervicovaginal fluid of asymptomatic HTLV-1-infected women. Methods: HTLV-1-infected and uninfected women were selected at the Centro de Atendimento ao Portador de HTLV in Salvador-Brazil. None of the included HTLV-1-infected women reported any HTLV-1-associated diseases. All volunteers underwent gynecological examination to collect cervicovaginal fluid. Cytokine quantification was performed using the Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) Human Th1/Th2/Th17 kit. Light microscopy was used to evaluate cervicovaginal cytopathology. In addition, proviral load in cervicovaginal fluid and peripheral blood was measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: 112 women (63 HTLV-1-infected and 49 uninfected) were evaluated. No differences were found with respect to cytopathological cervicovaginal findings between the groups. IL-2, TNF, IL-4, IL-10, and IL-17 levels were significantly higher in cervicovaginal fluid of the HTLV-1-infected women than in uninfected women (p < 0.05). Conversely, IFN-γ was found to be lower in the HTLV-1-infected women (p < 0.001) compared to uninfected individuals. Cervicovaginal proviral load was detectable in 53% of the HTLV-1-infected women and was found to be consistently lower than the proviral load in peripheral blood. Conclusions: HTLV-1 infection induces immune activation in cervicovaginal environment, characterized by elevated concentrations of Th1, Th2, and IL17 in the cervicovaginal fluid.
Assuntos
Humanos , Feminino , Adulto , Vagina/patologia , Líquidos Corporais/química , Infecções por HTLV-I/patologia , Colo do Útero/patologia , Citocinas/análise , Classe Social , Vagina/imunologia , Vagina/virologia , Líquidos Corporais/imunologia , Ensaio de Imunoadsorção Enzimática , Leucócitos Mononucleares/virologia , Vírus Linfotrópico T Tipo 1 Humano/isolamento & purificação , Infecções por HTLV-I/imunologia , Infecções por HTLV-I/virologia , Colo do Útero/imunologia , Colo do Útero/virologia , Estudos Transversais , Células Th2/imunologia , Células Th1/imunologia , Estatísticas não Paramétricas , Carga Viral , Interleucina-17/imunologiaRESUMO
Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive bacteria described as an important causative agent of sepsis. The contact between host leukocytes and bacteria activates the innate immune response. Nitric oxide, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1ß play a key role in increasing microbicidal activity and controlling cell influx into infectious focus. Contrarily, IL-10 acts as an anti-inflammatory cytokine and bacterial killing suppressor. Immunoregulatory properties have also been attributed to hormones, including cholecystokinin (CCK). CCK protects cardiovascular function and inhibits the inflammatory response induced by lipopolysaccharide, product derived from Gram-negative bacteria. Nevertheless, the role of CCK during Gram-positive infection remains a literature gap. Our aims were to investigate whether CCK protects rats against bacterial dissemination during sepsis induced by S. aureus. We determined whether CCK modulates local and systemic inflammatory response, as well as the cell migration into the infectious focus and the bactericidal capacity of leukocytes. Our results revealed that proglumide (nonselective CCK receptor antagonist) pretreated rats showed higher bacterial counts in blood and peritoneal lavage fluid (PLF) and reduced TNF-α and IL-10 levels in PLF. Moreover, the dissemination of S. aureus may be related to the failure of neutrophil and macrophage migration into the peritoneal cavity. Also, CCK improved the phagocytic and bactericidal ability of these inflammatory cells. Noteworthy is that the adoptive transfer of CCK-treated neutrophils and macrophages in septic rats improved immune defense, reducing bacterial number in blood and PLF. All together, our study clearly demonstrates an important protective role of CCK against sepsis induced by S. aureus.
Assuntos
Colecistocinina/farmacologia , Fatores Imunológicos/farmacologia , Sepse/prevenção & controle , Infecções Estafilocócicas/prevenção & controle , Staphylococcus aureus/efeitos dos fármacos , Animais , Carga Bacteriana , Sangue/microbiologia , Líquidos Corporais/imunologia , Interleucina-10/análise , Masculino , Cavidade Peritoneal/microbiologia , Ratos Wistar , Sepse/microbiologia , Infecções Estafilocócicas/microbiologia , Fator de Necrose Tumoral alfa/análiseRESUMO
PURPOSE: To evaluate vaginal microflora and interleukin-1ß (IL-ß), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) concentrations in the cervicovaginal fluid of a group of pregnant women in preterm labor when compared with a group of full-term pregnant women not yet in labor. METHOD: Case-control study performed in a University tertiary referral maternity in Campinas, Brazil with 45 pregnant women in preterm labor and 45 full-term pregnant women not in labor. All patients underwent speculum examination for the collection of cervicovaginal fluid. Bacterial vaginosis (BV) was diagnosed according to the criteria of Amsel and Nugent. Culture was performed for group B streptococcus (GBS) and lactobacilli, and hybrid capture assay for screening for chlamydial and gonococcal infection. Cytokine concentrations were measured using ELISA technique. Statistical analysis was performed using χ(2), Fisher's exact, and crude and adjusted odds ratios. Significance level was defined at 5%. The main outcome measures were cervicovaginal cytokines in preterm labor. RESULTS: IL-6 and IL-8 were significantly associated with preterm labor. The changes in vaginal microflora, as well as BV and GBS, were more frequent in women in preterm labor, although BV and GBS showed no statistical significance. The presence of Candida sp., absence of lactobacilli, positive screening for chlamydial and gonococcal infection and the presence of IL-1ß and TNF-α were not associated with preterm labor. CONCLUSIONS: IL-6 and IL-8 and the presence of any type of vaginal infection were the factors that were significantly associated with preterm labor.
Assuntos
Líquidos Corporais/imunologia , Citocinas/imunologia , Trabalho de Parto Prematuro/imunologia , Trabalho de Parto Prematuro/microbiologia , Complicações Infecciosas na Gravidez/microbiologia , Vagina/imunologia , Vagina/microbiologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Líquidos Corporais/química , Brasil , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Citocinas/análise , Feminino , Humanos , Inflamação/microbiologia , Interleucina-1beta/análise , Interleucina-1beta/imunologia , Interleucina-6/análise , Interleucina-6/imunologia , Interleucina-8/análise , Interleucina-8/imunologia , Gravidez , Fator de Necrose Tumoral alfa/análise , Fator de Necrose Tumoral alfa/imunologia , Vaginose Bacteriana/diagnóstico , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Cry1Ac protoxin has potent mucosal and systemic adjuvant effects on antibody responses to proteins or polysaccharides. In this work, we examined whether Cry1Ac increased protective immunity against fatal Naegleria fowleri infection in mice, which resembles human primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. Higher immunoglobulin G (IgG) than IgA anti-N. fowleri responses were elicited in the serum and tracheopulmonary fluids of mice immunized by the intranasal or intraperitoneal route with N. fowleri lysates either alone or with Cry1Ac or cholera toxin. Superior protection against a lethal challenge with 5 x 10(4) live N. fowleri trophozoites was achieved for immunization by the intranasal route. Intranasal immunization of N. fowleri lysates coadministered with Cry1Ac increased survival to 100%; interestingly, immunization with Cry1Ac alone conferred similar protection to that achieved with amoebal lysates alone (60%). When mice intranasally immunized with Cry1Ac plus lysates were challenged with amoebae, both IgG and IgA mucosal responses were rapidly increased, but only the increased IgG response persisted until day 60 in surviving mice. The brief rise in the level of specific mucosal IgA does not exclude the role that this isotype may play in the early defense against this parasite, since higher IgA responses were detected in nasal fluids of mice intranasally immunized with lysates plus either Cry1Ac or cholera toxin, which, indeed, were the treatments that provided the major protection levels. In contrast, serum antibody responses do not seem to be related to the protection level achieved. Both acquired and innate immune systems seem to play a role in host defense against N. fowleri infection, but further studies are required to elucidate the mechanisms involved in protective effects conferred by Cry1Ac, which may be a valuable tool to improve mucosal vaccines.
Assuntos
Amebíase/prevenção & controle , Proteínas de Bactérias/imunologia , Toxinas Bacterianas/imunologia , Endotoxinas/imunologia , Meningoencefalite/prevenção & controle , Naegleria fowleri/imunologia , Precursores de Proteínas/imunologia , Adjuvantes Imunológicos , Administração Intranasal , Amebíase/mortalidade , Amebíase/parasitologia , Animais , Anticorpos Antiprotozoários/sangue , Anticorpos Antiprotozoários/metabolismo , Toxinas de Bacillus thuringiensis , Proteínas de Bactérias/administração & dosagem , Proteínas de Bactérias/genética , Toxinas Bacterianas/administração & dosagem , Toxinas Bacterianas/genética , Líquidos Corporais/imunologia , Endotoxinas/administração & dosagem , Endotoxinas/genética , Proteínas Hemolisinas , Humanos , Imunização , Pulmão/imunologia , Meningoencefalite/mortalidade , Meningoencefalite/parasitologia , Camundongos , Naegleria fowleri/patogenicidade , Mucosa Nasal/imunologia , Precursores de Proteínas/administração & dosagem , Traqueia/imunologiaRESUMO
Saliva and oral transudate were evaluated for their potential as human specimens in the detection of IgG antibodies against soluble Schistosoma mansoni egg antigen (SEA). Preliminary laboratory testing of 49 subjects, 37 with parasitological proven infection and 12 negative controls, displayed 100% sensitivity in ELISA using serum and oral transudate and 94.6% using saliva. The specificity of the ELISA with serum was 100% versus 91.7% with both oral fluids. Significant Spearman rank correlations of anti-SEA IgG levels with egg counts were observed for serum, oral transudate and saliva (P < 0.05). The sensitivity of dot-ELISA was 100% for serum, 89% for transudate and 81% for saliva, and specificity was 100% for all 3 samples. The immunodiagnostic value of ELISA for the detection of anti-SEA IgG antibodies in oral transudate was further evaluated in 197 individuals from an endemic area of Brazil. The ELISA using serum and oral transudate showed sensitivities of 98.8% and 100% respectively and specificities of 67.8% and 64.3% respectively. Use of oral fluids for the diagnosis of S. mansoni infection was equivalent to sera with respect to test efficacy, offering an alternative to blood collection.
Assuntos
Antígenos de Helmintos/análise , Líquidos Corporais/imunologia , Ensaio de Imunoadsorção Enzimática/normas , Imunoglobulina G/análise , Esquistossomose mansoni/diagnóstico , Adolescente , Líquidos Corporais/parasitologia , Humanos , Projetos Piloto , Saliva/imunologia , Esquistossomose mansoni/sangue , Sensibilidade e EspecificidadeRESUMO
Until a short time ago, hydatidosis was considered a pathology that could only be resolved surgically. However, in recent years progress has been made with the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease, and new information on the natural history of hydatidosis has helped define new criteria for its treatment. It is now known that as many as 67% of the carriers of liver cysts who are asymptomatic remain so throughout their lives. This situation produces special results in immunologic testing. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has a sensitivity of 63% and a specificity of 97% with asymptomatic carriers, while the double diffusion arc 5 test (DD5) achieves a sensitivity of only 31% with the same population. On the other hand, imaging studies based on ultrasonography have become the method of choice to detect asymptomatic carriers. Ultrasonography studies are 49% to 73% more sensitive than serological tests, and they can even be used as a part of epidemiological surveillance systems and to monitor control programs. Treatment schemes have also been modernized. Treating asymptomatic carriers chemotherapeutically with albendazole produces favorable results in as many as 69% of cases, while such minimally invasive surgical treatments as puncture-aspiration-injection-reaspiration (PAIR) reduce average cyst volume by as much as 66%. These factors have made it possible for hospital services in the province of Río Negro, Argentina, to establish a treatment scheme for asymptomatic carriers. It is based on the monitoring of small cysts (type Ia on the modified Gharbi scale); initial treatment with albendazole, followed by PAIR if there is no response, in larger or more complex cysts (types Ib, II, and III); and follow-up of inviable or dead cysts (types IV and V).
Assuntos
Portador Sadio/epidemiologia , Equinococose/epidemiologia , Albendazol/uso terapêutico , Animais , Anti-Helmínticos/uso terapêutico , Anticorpos Anti-Helmínticos/sangue , Argentina/epidemiologia , Líquidos Corporais/imunologia , Portador Sadio/diagnóstico , Portador Sadio/tratamento farmacológico , Portador Sadio/imunologia , Terapia Combinada , Diagnóstico por Imagem , Reservatórios de Doenças , Doenças do Cão/parasitologia , Cães , Equinococose/diagnóstico , Equinococose/tratamento farmacológico , Equinococose/imunologia , Equinococose/cirurgia , Echinococcus/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Echinococcus/imunologia , Echinococcus/isolamento & purificação , Ensaio de Imunoadsorção Enzimática , Humanos , Imunodifusão , Larva , Programas de Rastreamento , Mebendazol/uso terapêutico , ZoonosesRESUMO
"Its all in the blood," nutritionist and dietitians often say to their clients. Indeed, much of the evidence about our nutritional status is provided by the blood. Health care practitioners study the blood to determine how well, or poorly we are eating and whether it is deficient or abnormal in any way.
Assuntos
Humanos , Líquidos Corporais/imunologia , Líquidos Corporais/metabolismo , Líquidos Corporais/fisiologia , Líquidos CorporaisRESUMO
Identification and characterization of immunodominant antigens in hydatid fluid was performed by electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels (SDS PAGE) followed by immunoelectrotransfer (Western Blot). The studies were performed in sera of 23 patients with surgically confirmed hydatid disease, 12 patients with clinical suspicion of the infection and positive serology according to conventional serology (double diffusion with detection of are 5 and ELISA test), 28 healthy subject and 23 patients with parasitic infections different from hydatidosis. The results showed 7 antigenic bands located between 8 and 120 kDa, two immunodominant bands (MW 8 and 12 kDa) were recognized by the sera of patients suffering from hydatid disease and those with positive serology. Two additional bands were detected by the sera of healthy subjects and by the samples of patients presenting cysticercosis. It is concluded that the antigens with molecular weights of 8 and 12 kDa. would be those of major diagnostic value, while those of 32 and 60 kDa are nonspecific.
Assuntos
Antígenos de Helmintos/análise , Equinococose/imunologia , Epitopos Imunodominantes/análise , Líquidos Corporais/imunologia , Sensibilidade e EspecificidadeAssuntos
Proteínas da Membrana Bacteriana Externa/imunologia , Líquidos Corporais/imunologia , Escherichia coli/imunologia , Imunoglobulinas/isolamento & purificação , Adulto , Líquido Amniótico/imunologia , Especificidade de Anticorpos , Pré-Escolar , Colostro/imunologia , Eletroforese em Gel de Poliacrilamida , Feminino , Sangue Fetal/imunologia , Células HeLa , Humanos , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Leite Humano/imunologia , Saliva/imunologiaRESUMO
Pleural fluid specimens from 87 patients were studied using counterimmunoelectrophoresis with pneumococcal, staphylococcal, and Hemophilus influenza b antisera. This method compared favorably with traditional bacteriologic methods and in addition provided a presumptive etiologic diagnosis in more than half of the specimens with negative bacterial cultures. One cross-reaction between H. influenza b antiserum and a pleural fluid specimen with an Escherichia coli isolate was observed.