1,720,998 research outputs found
Immunotherapy of allergic processes by toll like receptor agonists
No full textA prevalência de alergias vem aumentando no mundo todo, em especial a asma alérgica que é considerada uma síndrome inflamatória pulmonar, que em sua forma clássica está associada ao descontrole da atividade de células T helper (Th) 2. As terapias correntes são em sua maioria sintomáticas. Porém, a imunoterapia específica (SIT, do inglês Specific-Immunotherapy ) é potencialmente curativa. A SIT consiste na adminsitração do alérgeno específico repetidamente em doses crescentes com o objetivo de promover a dessensibilização do paciente. O presente trabalho, utilizando a ovoalbumina (OVA) como alérgeno em modelo de asma alérgica experimental, investigou protocolos profiláticos e terapêuticos de SIT. Durante a realização do protocolo profilático, os animais foram sensibilizados com OVA adsorvida em hidróxido de alumínio (Alum) associada com diferentes agonistas de receptores do tipo toll (TLR, do inglês toll-like receptors ). O agonista de TLR 9 (CpG) foi o mais eficiente em inibir a sensibilização alérgica quando comparado aos demais agonistas de TLR testados. Esta inibição do desenvolvimento da inflamação alérgica pulmonar por CpG foi dependente da molécula IL-10 e da sinalização via MyD88 nas células dendríticas. Além disso, sabendo que a SIT terapêutica, administrada pela via subcutânea é capaz de desencadear uma reação anafilática, encapsulamos a OVA em lipossoma catiônico 1,2-dioleoil-3-trimetilamônio-sulfato (DOTAP) com o intuito de aumentar a segurança da formulação e paralelamente potencializar o efeito do CpG. Os resultados verificaram que o encapsulamento da OVA diminuiu a reação anafilática cutânea e sistêmica induzida por este alérgeno. Verificamos também que a SIT com alérgeno/CpG encapsulados no DOTAP (OVA+CpG/DOTAP ou BT+CpG/DOTAP) promove uma significativa inibição da inflamação alérgica pulmonar e produção de IgE Total. Essa inibição da alergia pulmonar foi associada com o aumento da produção de IL-10, mas não de IFN-g no lavado bronco-alveolar (BAL). Notavelmente, o efeito terapêutico inibitório de OVA+CpG/DOTAP não foi verificado em animais deficientes para as moléculas de MyD88, IL-10 ou IFN-g. Verificamos que a SIT terapêutica também era dependente da sinalização via MyD88 nas células dendríticas. Além disso, ao utilizarmos animais reconstituídos com células de animais doadores alérgicos, verificamos que o efeito terapêutico da SIT não foi encontrado em animais reconstituídos com células de animais IFN-gKO, e que animais reconstituídos com células de animais IL-10KO apresentavam aumento de IL-10 no BAL. A transferência de células de medula óssea de animais C57BL/6 (WT), mas não de animais IFN-gKO, tratados com OVA+CpG/DOTAP foi capaz de reverter o quadro inflamatório alérgico de animais WT e induzir o aumento de IL-10 no BAL. Esses resultados contribuem para a elucidação dos mecânismos envolvidos na ação anti-inflamatória da SIT e potenciais utilizações do CpG e DOTAP em processos alérgicos.The prevalence of allergies is increasing worldwide, especially allergic asthma that is considere a pulmonary inflammatory syndrome, which in its classic form is associated with the lack of control of T helper cell (Th) 2 activity. Current therapies are mostly symptomatic. However, specific immunotherapy (SIT) is potentially curative. SIT consists of administering the specific allergen repeatedly in increasing doses in order to promote patient desensitization. The present study, using ovalbumin (OVA) as an allergen in an experimental allergic asthma model, investigated prophylactic and therapeutic SIT protocols. During the prophylactic protocol, the animals were sensitized with OVA adsorbed on aluminum hydroxide (Alum) associated with different toll-like receptors (TLR) agonists. The TLR 9 agonist (CpG) was the most efficient in inhibiting allergic sensitization when compared to the other TLR agonists tested. This inhibition mediated by CpG of the development of the allergic lung inflammation was dependent on the IL-10 molecule and the MyD88 signaling in dendritic cells. In addition, knowing that the therapeutic SIT, administered by the subcutaneous route is capable of triggering an anaphylactic reaction, we encapsulated OVA in 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium sulphate (DOTAP), a cationic liposome, in order to increase the safety of the formulation and in parallel potentiate the effect of CpG. The results showed that OVA encapsulation reduced the cutaneous and systemic anaphylactic reaction induced by this allergen. We also verified that SIT with the allergen and CpG encapsulated in DOTAP (OVA+ CpG/DOTAP or BT+CpG/DOTAP) promotes a significant inhibition of lung allergic inflammation and Total IgE production. This inhibition of lung inflammation was associated with increased production of IL-10 but not of IFN-g in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Notably, the inhibitory therapeutic effect of OVA+CpG/DOTAP was abrogate in animals deficient in the MyD88 or IL-10 or IFN-g molecules. We found that therapeutic SIT was also dependent on MyD88 signaling on dendritic cells. In addition, when we used animals reconstituted with cells from allergic donor animals, we found that the therapeutic effect of SIT was not found in animals reconstituted with cells from IFN-gKO animals, and that animals reconstituted with IL-10KO animal cells had increased IL -10 in the BAL. The transfer of bone marrow cells from C57BL/6 (WT) animals but not from IFN-gKO animals treated with OVA+CpG/DOTAP was able to reverse the lung allergic inflammation of WT animals and induce the increase of IL-10 in the BAL. These results contribute to the elucidation of the mechanisms involved in the anti-inflammatory effect of the SIT and potential uses of CpG and DOTAP in allergic processes
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Ativacao de macrofagos peritoneais por lipolissacarideos bacterianos: mecanismo de acao
No full textBV UNIFESP: Teses e dissertaçõe
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Neural and behavioral correlates of experimental allergic asthma in mice
No full textForam estudadas as áreas do sistema nervoso central de camundongos ativadas pela exposição de animais alérgicos ao antígeno (ovalbumina ? OVA) bem como uma resposta adaptativa desencadeada a partir da nebulização de OVA em uma caixa de esquiva adaptada. Animais imunizados apresentam aumento de atividade do núcleo paraventricular do hipotálamo e do núcleo central da amígdala após um único desafio intranasal com OVA e evitam entrar no compartimento previamente associado a nebulização com OVA. A ativação das áreas descritas acima é compatível com a elaboração de uma resposta adaptativa (evitar o contato com o antígeno). Animais tornados tolerantes à OVA no dia da imunização primária não apresentam atividade dos núcleos citados nem desenvolvem aversão ao local do desafio, demonstrando que essas alterações são dependentes de anticorpos IgE anti-OVA. Camundongos da linhagem C3H/HeJ, que não desenvolvem inflamação alérgica pulmonar, apresentam as mesmas respostas observadas em camundongos BALB/c, sugerindo que o processo inflamatório não é relevante nesse modelo. O tratamento prévio com cromoglicato dissódico suprime a ativação no SNC e a indução de aversão associada ao desafio com OVA. Esses fatos sugerem em conjunto que a desgranulação de mastócitos mediada por IgE em vias aéreas ative o SNC e desencadeie as alterações comportamentais descritas.Activation of the central nervous system (CNS) was evaluated following ovalbumin (OVA) challenge in a murine model of asthma, as well as an adaptive response triggered by OVA nebulization during an avoidance test. Immunized animals showed increased activity in the paraventricular nucleous of the hypothalamus and central nucleous of the amygdala after a single intranasal OVA challenge. Furthermore, they avoid a compartment previously associated with the antigen. Activation of these brain areas is compatible with the display of adaptive responses (avoiding contact with the antigen). Induction of immunological tolerance along with primary immunization precludes both CNS activation and avoidance behavior, showing that these responses are IgE-mediated. Mice from the C3H/HeJ strain do not develop lung allergic inflammation but show a similar pattern of brain activity after OVA challenge and mount the same avoidance reaction seen in BALB/c mice, suggesting that an inflammatory infiltrate in the lung is not required in these responses. Prior treatment with dissodium cromoglycate inhibits CNS activation and avoidance behavior. Collectively, these findings demonstrate a role of IgE-mediated mast cell degranulation in signaling an allergic response initiated in the airways to the mouse brain
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
- …
