28492 research outputs found
Sort by
Nutritional status and living conditions of adults and older people in quilombola communities, municipality of Santarém, Pará - Amazon, Brazil
No full textObjective: To evaluate the nutritional status and living conditions of adults and older people from remaining quilombola communities in the municipality of Santarém, Pará, Brazil. Methods: a descriptive cross-sectional research study approach conducted in the quilombola communities of Bom Jardim, Murumurutuba, Murumuru, Tiningú, Arapemã and Saracura. Data collection involved an anthropometric evaluation and application of a semi-structured questionnaire to identify socioeconomic, demographic and environmental conditions. A descriptive analysis of the data was performed and inferential statistics involved nominal logistic regression to identify the social variables that had some effect on the nutritional status of adults. Results: A total of 533 individuals, aged ≥18 years, participated in the study. The predominance of females was found to be 53.4%, married or friends 72.9%, with completed primary education (56.8%) and Catholics (88.7%). The largest proportion of the population was in the area of land (65.6%). However, the largest number of adults and older people were concentrated in the Saracura quilombo, a floodplain area (21.9%). The worst perception of health status was with permanent difficulty to see (36.4%). They lived with household income less than 1 minimum wage (66.0%), houses with clay, wood and other floors (72.5%%), lighting with kerosene lamps (85.9%), use of rudimentary pits as a toilet (type dug or black) (88.2%). And water supply of the river or the creek (44.4%). A positive association was observed between low weight and the age group of older people. Obesity in adults was significantly associated with the age group, as well as with the origin of the minimum income (unemployment insurance or Bolsa Família (scholarship and/or family grant). It was observed that there was a significant difference between the overweight, the age group and the female sex with the location of the quilombo (floodplain: várzea or dryland: terra firme), and with the origin of the water (shaft or cacimba). It was found that malnutrition, especially in older people, is a relevant problem. Conclusions: This study is an important support instrument for the discussion of the health of the quilombola population, since the results showed the existence of social vulnerability and health situations, differentiated according to the geographical location of the quilombos, which is closely related to climate seasonality, as well as to environmental, socioeconomic and demographic conditions. The need for further studies to deepen the characterization of these communities on analysis, linked to discussions on the establishment of sustainable social protection systems for the improvement of the quality of life in these territories, is thus highlighted
Mononuclear Phagocyte Activation Is Associated With the Immunopathology of Psoriasis
No full textInstitutional Review Board of the
School of Medicine of the Federal University of Bahia. The
patients/participants provided their written informed consent to
participate in this study.Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory disease affecting the skin and joints. The pathogenesis of this disease is associated with genetic, environmental and immunological factors, especially unbalanced T cell activation and improper keratinocyte differentiation. Psoriatic lesion infiltrate is composed of monocytes and T cells, and most studies have focused on the participation of T cells in the pathogenesis of this disease. Here we investigated the contribution of mononuclear phagocytes in the immunopathology observed in psoriatic patients. Significant increases in the levels of TNF, IL-1β, CXCL9, as well as the soluble forms of CD14 and CD163, were observed within the lesions of psoriatic patients compared to skin biopsies obtained from healthy individuals. Moreover, we found an association between the levels of CCL2, a monocyte attractant chemokine, and disease severity. In conclusion, our findings suggest a potential role for mononuclear phagocytes in the pathogenesis of psoriasis
CCL3/Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-1α Is Dually Involved in Parasite Persistence and Induction of a TNF- and IFNγ-Enriched Inflammatory Milieu in Trypanosoma cruzi-Induced Chronic Cardiomyopathy
No full textCCL3, a member of the CC-chemokine family, has been associated with macrophage recruitment to heart tissue and parasite control in the acute infection of mouse with Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. Here, we approached the participation of CCL3 in chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy (CCC), the main clinical form of Chagas disease. We induced CCC in C57BL/6 (ccl3+/+) and CCL3-deficient (ccl3-/-) mice by infection with the Colombian Type I strain. In ccl3+/+ mice, high levels of CCL3 mRNA and protein were detected in the heart tissue during the acute and chronic infection. Survival was not affected by CCL3 deficiency. In comparison with ccl3+/+, chronically infected ccl3-/- mice presented reduced cardiac parasitism and inflammation due to CD8+ cells and macrophages. Leukocytosis was decreased in infected ccl3-/- mice, paralleling the accumulation of CD8+ T cells devoid of activated CCR5+ LFA-1+ cells in the spleen. Further, T. cruzi-infected ccl3-/-mice presented reduced frequency of interferon-gamma (IFNγ)+ cells and numbers of parasite-specific IFNγ-producing cells, while the T. cruzi antigen-specific cytotoxic activity was increased. Stimulation of CCL3-deficient macrophages with IFNγ improved parasite control, in a milieu with reduced nitric oxide (NOx) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), but similar interleukin-10 (IL-10), concentrations. In comparison with chronically T. cruzi-infected ccl3+/+ counterparts, ccl3-/- mice did not show enlarged heart, loss of left ventricular ejection fraction, QTc prolongation and elevated CK-MB activity. Compared with ccl3+/+, infected ccl3-/- mice showed reduced concentrations of TNF, while IL-10 levels were not affected, in the heart milieu. In spleen of ccl3+/+ NI controls, most of the CD8+ T-cells expressing the CCL3 receptors CCR1 or CCR5 were IL-10+, while in infected mice these cells were mainly TNF+. Lastly, selective blockage of CCR1/CCR5 (Met-RANTES therapy) in chronically infected ccl3+/+ mice reversed pivotal electrical abnormalities (bradycardia, prolonged PR, and QTc interval), in correlation with reduced TNF and, mainly, CCL3 levels in the heart tissue. Therefore, in the chronic T. cruzi infection CCL3 takes part in parasite persistence and contributes to form a CD8+ T-cell and macrophage-enriched cardiac inflammation. Further, increased levels of CCL3 create a scenario with abundant IFNγ and TNF, associated with cardiomyocyte injury, heart dysfunction and QTc prolongation, biomarkers of severity of Chagas' heart disease
Transmission of Chikungunya Virus in an Urban Slum, Brazil
No full textBrazilian National
Council for Scientific and Technological Development (grants 400830/2013-2, 440891/2016-7, and 421522/2016-0 to G.S.R., grant 439967/2016-3 to R.K., and scholarships
to M.G.R., U.K., and G.S.R.); the Coordination for the
Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, Brazilian Ministry of Education (grant 88887.130746/2016-00 to G.S.R.); the Research Support Foundation for the State of Bahía (grant FAPESB PET0022/2016 to G.S.R.); the US National Institutes of Health (grants NIAID 5 R01 AI121207, FIC 5 R01 TW009504, FIC 5 R25 TW009338, and NIAID 5 U01 AI088752 to A.I.K.); the Wellcome Trust (102330/Z/13/Z to F.C.); the Yale School of Public Health; the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation; the Federal University of Bahia; and the Department of Science and Technology, Secretariat of Science, Technology and Strategic Inputs, Brazilian Ministry of Health.After a chikungunya outbreak in Salvador, Brazil, we performed a cross-sectional, community-based study of 1,776 inhabitants to determine chikungunya virus (CHIKV) seroprevalence, identify factors associated with exposure, and estimate the symptomatic infection rate. From November 2016 through February 2017, we collected sociodemographic and clinical data by interview and tested serum samples for CHIKV IgG. CHIKV seroprevalence was 11.8% (95% CI 9.8%-13.7%), and 15.3% of seropositive persons reported an episode of fever and arthralgia. Infections were independently and positively associated with residences served by unpaved streets, a presumptive clinical diagnosis of chikungunya, and recall of an episode of fever with arthralgia in 2015-2016. Our findings indicate that the chikungunya outbreak in Salvador may not have conferred sufficient herd immunity to preclude epidemics in the near future. The unusually low frequency of symptomatic disease points to a need for further longitudinal studies to better investigate these findings
Podcast Viralizados: onde o vírus SARS-CoV-2 costuma se alojar?
No full textPodcast publicado em 24 de março de 2020 pela Fiocruz Brasília.O médico e pesquisador Claudio Maierovitch, da Fiocruz Brasília, explica os locais no corpo humano em que o vírus da Covid-19 mais se aloja e as formas de transmissão da doença. O Viralizados é uma produção da Fiocruz Brasília sobre temas que estão em destaque na mídia e na sociedade
Algumas lições que já devemos tentar aprender com a pandemia
No full textDevido a pandemia mundial do COVID-19, o artigo da revista foi liberado em acesso aberto durante o ano de 2020, visando divulgação e disseminação.Há décadas, já se diz que a sociedade moderna, ocidental, reforça o individualismo, e seus modelos econômicos estimulam e incentivam a competição. Incentiva-se a busca do sucesso individual e mal se disfarça uma certa complacência com meios que poderiam facilmente ser qualificados como amorais. No Brasil e alhures, a preocupação com o outro começou a ser qualificada como mera estratégia de conquista e manutenção de poder político. Mais do que os resultados na disputa política, o que acabamos verificando foi a intensificação do individualismo e a implementação de políticas que prejudicam, profundamente, a capacidade de sobrevivência com um mínimo de dignidade para gigantescos segmentos da população brasileira. Tem se intensificado um fenômeno que é facilmente observável em diferentes países ocidentais: o isolamento dos segmentos que desfrutam de privilégios econômicos e sociais em condomínios e pequenas ilhas de segurança e prosperidade
Efeitos de análogos da acetilcolina e noradrenalina sobre interações entre timócitos e células epiteliais tímicas
No full textO timo é um órgão linfoide primário responsável pelo desenvolvimento e seleção de células T. Diversos fatores podem afetar o desenvolvimento de células T, como citocinas, quimiocinas e moléculas da matriz extracelular, mas também hormônios, neuropeptídeos e neurotransmissores. O timo recebe densa inervação simpática, liberando majoritariamente noradrenalina (NA), timócitos e células tímicas não linfoides expressam receptores adrenérgicos e podem sintetizar catecolaminas, sugerindo modulação de NA por diferentes vias. Por outro lado, poucas evidências anatômicas suportam a hipótese da inervação tímica parassimpática. Entretanto, acetilcolina (ACh) parece ser endogenamente produzida no órgão, uma vez que diferentes células no timo expressam a enzima sintetizadora de ACh (ChAT) e receptores colinérgicos. Sendo assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar o papel funcional de ACh e NA sobre os componentes linfoide e microambiental do timo, e sobre as interações entre células epiteliais e timócitos. Avaliamos a expressão de receptores adrenérgicos \03B11A, \03B11D, \03B12C, \03B22 e colinérgicos M1, M3, M5 e \03B17 em timócitos e TECs, através do método de PCR quantitativa. Todas as populações celulares testadas expressavam os receptores selecionados Além disso, buscamos caracterizar o efeito de drogas análogas aos neurotransmissores sobre a morte e a proliferação de timócitos, através da marcação com anexina-V/iodeto de propídio (IP) e CFSE respectivamente. Timócitos obtidos do timo de camundongos C57BL/6 fêmeas, foram tratados com carbacol (análogo de Ach - em concentrações variando de 10 nM a 1000 nM) ou arterenol (análogo de NA - em concentrações variando de 10 nM a 1 mM). Verificamos que apenas arterenol na concentração de 1 mM induziu a apoptose nas células tratadas. Nenhum dos análogos modulou a proliferação celular. Avaliamos ainda o efeito das drogas sobre a migração de timócitos, agindo como quimioatrente ou modulando a migração induzida por fibronectina. Nenhuma das drogas demonstrou efeito quimioatraente ou alterou a migração induzida por fibronectina. Além disso, avaliamos o efeito das drogas sobre a interação TEC/timócitos atraves de ensaios de adesão e observamos que carbacol foi capaz de diminuir a adesão de timócitos a TECs em todas as concentrações testadas. Essa diminuição é refletida no número de timócitos que aderem às TECs e parece estar associada a modulação da expressão do receptor de laminina VLA-6. Nossos dados sugerem que timócitos e as linhagens de TECs testadas expressam receptores e que neurotransmissores, em especial a ACh, podem modular a interação entre TECs e timócitos.The thymus is a primary lymphoid organ responsible for the development and selection of T cells. Several factors can affect T cell development in the thymus, such as cytokines, chemokines and extracellular matrix molecules, but also hormones, neuropeptides and neurotransmitters. The thymus receives dense sympathetic innervation, which mostly releases norepinephrine (NA). Thymocytes and non-lymphoid thymic cells express adrenergic receptors and can synthesize catecholamines, suggesting that NA modulation can occur in different pathways. On the other hand, little anatomical evidence supports the hypothesis of parasympathetic thymic innervation. However, acetylcholine (ACh) appears to be endogenously produced in the organ, since different cells in the thymus express the Ach-synthesizing enzyme (ChAT) and cholinergic receptors. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the functional role of ACh and NA on the lymphoid and microenvironmental components of the thymus, and on the interactions between epithelial cells and thymocytes. We evaluated the expression of \03B11A, \03B11D, \03B12C, \03B22 adrenergic receptors and M1, M3, M5 and \03B17 cholinergic receptors in thymocytes and TECs, using the quantitative PCR method. All cell populations tested expressed the selected receptors Then we evaluated the effect of neurotransmitter-like drugs on thymocyte cell death and proliferation, through annexin-V / propidium iodide (PI) and CFSE staining, respectively. Thymocytes obtained from C57BL /6 female mice were treated with carbachol (Ach analog - in concentrations ranging from 10 nM to 1000 nM) or arterenol (NA analog - in concentrations ranging from 10 nM to 1 mM). Only arterenol at 1 mM concentration induced apoptosis. None of the analogs altered cell proliferation. We also analyzed the effect of these drugs on thymocyte migration, evaluating if any of them could act as a chemoattractant or modulating cell migration induced by fibronectin. None of the drugs showed a chemoattractive effect or altered migration induced by fibronectin. In addition, we evaluated the effect of arterenol and carbachol on TEC / thymocyte adhesion through adhesion assays and observed that carbachol was able to diminished thymocyte adhesion to TECs at all concentrations tested. This decrease is reflected in the number of thymocytes that adhere to TECs and appears to be associated with modulation of the expression of the VLA-6 laminin receptor. Our data suggest that thymocytes and the tested TEC lineages express adrenergic and cholinergic receptors and that neurotransmitters, especially ACh, can modulate the interaction between TECs and thymocytes
Use of persistent identifiers and Research Blogging by portuguese language scientific blogs and their Altmetric coverage
No full textObjetivo: investiga o uso de identificadores persistentes e Research Blogging pela blogosfera científica em língua portuguesa e sua cobertura pela Altmetric por intermédio de um levantamento das citações de artigos em suas postagens. Métodos: Partindo da lista de blogues cadastrados no portal Anel de Blogs Científicos (ABC), foram efetuadas buscas no Google com o objetivo de identificar os blogues em português que citam em suas postagens artigos com identificadores persistentes como o DOI, PMID ou ArXiv, ou que integram a iniciativa Research Blogging que vincula postagens com citações de pesquisas em revistas acadêmicas. Resultados: Os dados sistematizados permitiram realizar consultas no sítio da Altmetric e verificar a sua cobertura. Como resultado levantamos que dos 460 blogues listados no ABC, apenas 109 blogues fizeram citações com identificadores persistentes, 35 participavam da iniciativa Research Blogging e 42 eram mapeados pela Altmetric. Discussões sobre a representatividade dos blogues científicos em português na comunicação científica foram conduzidas com base nos resultados apurados. Conclusões: A falta de padronização das citações em blogues foi apontada como um dos fatores responsáveis pela baixa cobertura dos blogues de língua portuguesa pelo indicador altmétrico. Foi indicada também uma possível ação para minorar esta sub-representação da blogosfera em língua portuguesa.CNPqObjective: investigates the use of persistent identifiers and Research Blogging by the Portuguese-language scientific blogosphere and their coverage by Altmetric through a survey of article citations in their posts. Methods: Starting from the list of blogs registered in the Scientific Blog Ring (Anel de Blogues Científicos - ABC) portal, Google searches were made in order to identify blogs in Portuguese that cite in their posts articles with persistent identifiers such as DOI, PMID or ArXiv, or that integrate the Research Blogging initiative that links posts with research citations in academic journals. Results: The systematized data made it possible to consult Altmetric's website and verify its coverage. As a result, we found that of the 460 blogs listed on ABC, only 109 blogs cited with persistent identifiers, 35 participated in the Research Blogging initiative and 42 were mapped by Altmetric. Conclusions: Discussions about the representativeness of scientific blogs in Portuguese in scholarly communication were conducted based on the results obtained. The lack of standardization of blog citations was pointed as one of the factors responsible for the low coverage of Portuguese-language blogs by the Altmetric indicator. A possible action was also indicated to reduce this under-representation of the blogosphere in Portuguese
Evaluation of phylogenetic methods for inferring the direction of HIV transmission: HPTN 052
No full textBACKGROUND: Phylogenetic analysis can be used to assess HIV transmission in populations. We inferred the direction of HIV transmission using whole-genome HIV sequences from couples with known linked infection and known transmission direction. METHODS: Complete next generation sequencing (NGS) data were obtained for 105 unique indexpartner sample pairs from 32 couples enrolled in the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 052 trial (up to two samples/person). Index samples were obtained up to 5.5 years before partner infection; partner samples were obtained near the time of seroconversion. The bioinformatics method, phyloscanner, was used to infer transmission direction. Analyses were performed using samples from individual sample pairs, samples from all couples (one sample/person; group analysis) and all available samples (multi-sample group analysis). Analysis was also performed using NGS data from defined regions of the HIV genome (gag, pol, env). RESULTS: Using whole-genome NGS data, transmission direction was inferred correctly (index to partner) for 98/105 (93.3%) of the individual sample pairs, 99/105 (94.3%) sample pairs using group analysis, and 31 (96.9%) of the 32 couples using multi-sample group analysis. There were no cases where the incorrect transmission direction (partner to index) was inferred. The accuracy of the method was higher with greater time between index and partner sample collection. Pol region sequences performed better than env or gag sequences for inferring transmission direction. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrate the potential of a phylogenetic method to infer the direction of HIV transmission between two individuals using whole-genome and pol NGS data.2030-06-0
CXCR3 chemokine receptor contributes to specific CD8+ T cell activation by pDC during infection with intracellular pathogens
No full textChemokine receptor type 3 (CXCR3) plays an important role in CD8+ T cells migration during intracellular infections, such as Trypanosoma cruzi. In addition to chemotaxis, CXCR3 receptor has been described as important to the interaction between antigen-presenting cells and effector cells. We hypothesized that CXCR3 is fundamental to T. cruzi-specific CD8+ T cell activation, migration and effector function. Anti-CXCR3 neutralizing antibody administration to acutely T. cruzi-infected mice decreased the number of specific CD8+ T cells in the spleen, and those cells had impaired in activation and cytokine production but unaltered proliferative response. In addition, anti-CXCR3-treated mice showed decreased frequency of CD8+ T cells in the heart and numbers of plasmacytoid dendritic cells in spleen and lymph node. As CD8+ T cells interacted with plasmacytoid dendritic cells during infection by T. cruzi, we suggest that anti-CXCR3 treatment lowers the quantity of plasmacytoid dendritic cells, which may contribute to impair the prime of CD8+ T cells. Understanding which molecules and mechanisms guide CD8+ T cell activation and migration might be a key to vaccine development against Chagas disease as those cells play an important role in T. cruzi infection control