Browsing by Author "Grenfell, Rafaella Fortini Queiroz"
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Item Antigenic extracts of Leishmania braziliensis and Leishmania amazonensis associated with saponin partially protects BALB/c mice against Leishmania chagasi infection by suppressing IL-10 and IL-4 production.(2010) Grenfell, Rafaella Fortini Queiroz; Silva, Eduardo de Almeida Marques da; Testasicca, Miriam Conceição de Souza; Coelho, Eduardo Antônio Ferraz; Fernandes, Ana Paula; Afonso, Luís Carlos Crocco; Rezende, Simone AparecidaThis study evaluated two vaccine candidates for their effectiveness in protecting BALB/c mice against Leishma¬nia chagasi infection. These immunogenic preparations were composed of Leishmania amazonensis or Leishmania braziliensis antigenic extracts in association with saponin adjuvant. Mice were given three subcutaneous doses of one of these vaccine candidates weekly for three weeks and four weeks later challenged with promastigotes of L. chagasi by intravenous injection. We observed that both vaccine candidates induced a significant reduction in the parasite load of the liver, while the L. amazonensis antigenic extract also stimulated a reduction in spleen parasite load. This protection was associated with a suppression of both interleukin (IL)-10 and IL-4 cytokines by spleen cells in response to L. chagasi antigen. No change was detected in the production of IFN-γ. Our data show that these im-munogenic preparations reduce the type 2 immune response leading to the control of parasite replication.Item Avaliação da resposta imune a vacinas de antígeno particulado de Leishmania sp e sua associação com vacina de DNA pCI-neo-p36(lack) em camundongos balb/c desafiados com Leishmania chagasi.(Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas. Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa e Pós Graduação, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, 2007) Grenfell, Rafaella Fortini Queiroz; Rezende, Simone AparecidaA leishmaniose visceral é uma enfermidade crônica que pode atingir 98% de mortalidade em humanos não tratados. Pela sua gravidade e alta prevalência, a vacinação é um meio importante de proteção. Alguns tipos de vacinas vêm sendo testados, dentre eles, as vacinas de antígeno particulado e a de DNA. Estas vacinas demonstraram a capacidade de reduzir a carga parasitária no fígado e no baço em modelo murino e induzir a produção de IFN- , com indução de uma resposta celular prolongada, em alguns casos. No nosso estudo, camundongos BALB/c foram vacinados com três doses de uma vacina subcutânea contendo 100 μg de antígeno particulado de L. chagasi, L. braziliensis ou L. amazonensis e 50 μg de saponina como adjuvante, associada ou não a uma vacina intramuscular, em duas doses, com 100 μg de pCI-neop36( LACK). Esta vacina de DNA continha um gene que codifica a proteína LACK (homóloga de Leishmania de receptores de proteína kinase C ativada), uma proteína de 36 kDa, conservada nas várias espécies e formas do ciclo de vida da Leishmania. Nos dois protocolos de vacinação, os camundongos foram desafiados 4 ou 12 semanas após a administração da vacina com 1 x 107 formas promastigotas de L. chagasi e sacrificados 5 semanas após o desafio para análise da capacidade protetora das vacinas, no fígado e no baço, e de indução da produção de IFN- e IL-4 pelos esplenócitos. Os dados mostraram que a vacina pCI-neo-p36(LACK) associada à vacina de antígeno particulado de L. chagasi induziu maior grau de proteção que a vacina de antígeno particulado administrada isoladamente, especialmente no fígado quando o desafio foi feito 4 semanas após a vacinação. Além disso, a vacina de antígeno de L. amazonensis, quando associada ou não a vacina pCI-neo-p36(LACK), induziu uma maior redução da carga parasitária do que a de L. braziliensis, no entanto nenhuma destas duas vacinas induziu proteção maior que a vacina de antígeno de L. chagasi. As vacinas induziram a produção significativa de IFN-g mas não de IL-4 que, em alguns casos, foi suprimida. Apesar da capacidade da associação das vacinas em aumentar a proteção contra o parasito, problemas relacionados com o uso de vacinas de DNA precisam ser melhor compreendidos.Item Diagnosis of Schistosoma mansoni infections : what are the choices in Brazilian low-endemic areas?(2019) Moraes, Vanessa Silva; Shollenberger, Lisa Marie; Siqueira, Liliane Maria Vidal; Borges, William de Castro; Harn, Donald A.; Grenfell, Rafaella Fortini Queiroz; Rabello, Ana Lúcia Teles; Coelho, Paulo Marcos ZechThe population of Brazil is currently characterised by many individuals harbouring low-intensity Schistosoma mansoni infections. The Kato-Katz technique is the diagnostic method recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to assess these infections, but this method is not sensitive enough in the context of low egg excretion. In this regard, potential alternatives are being employed to overcome the limits of the Kato-Katz technique. In the present review, we evaluated the performance of parasitological and immunological approaches adopted in Brazilian areas. Currently, the diagnostic choices involve a combination of strategies, including the utilisation of antibody methods to screen individuals and then subsequent confirmation of positive cases by intensive parasitological investigations.Item Schistosomiasis in Nigeria : gleaning from the past to improve current efforts towards control.(2020) Oyeyemi, Oyetunde Timothy; Jeremias, Wander de Jesus; Grenfell, Rafaella Fortini QueirozThe effort to control schistosomiasis in Nigeria has been scaled up the past few years. Schistosomiasis affects all age groups, however, school children are at the highest risk of the disease. In the past years, global partners in schistosomiasis control have renewed their commitments. Many countries including few in Africa are working towards eliminating the disease. In Nigeria, the transmission of schistosomiasis is still active. This poses a serious health challenge as morbidity builds up in infected individuals. Mass drug administration (MDA) has helped to reduce morbidity but it is not adequate to abate transmission in many areas of the country. The integration of other aspects of control will provide a more sustainable result. This review attempted to discuss schistosomiasis transmission patterns in Nigeria in different eras. We identified some pitfalls in efforts towards the control of schistosomiasis in Nigeria. We recommended research priority in areas of neglect and advocated for integrated control.Item Serological proteomic screening and evaluation of a recombinant egg antigen for the diagnosis of low-intensity Schistosoma mansoni infections in endemic area in Brazil.(2019) Moraes, Vanessa Silva; Shollenberger, Lisa Marie; Borges, William Castro; Rabello, Ana Lucia Teles; Harn, Donald A.; Medeiros, Lia Carolina Soares; Jeremias, Wander de Jesus; Siqueira, Liliane Maria Vidal; Pereira, Caroline Stephane Salviano; Pedrosa, Maria Luysa Camargos; Almeida, Nathalie Bonatti Franco; Almeida, Aureo; Lambertucci, Jose Roberto; Carneiro, Nídia Francisca de Figueiredo; Coelho, Paulo Marcos Zech; Grenfell, Rafaella Fortini QueirozBackground Despite decades of use of control programs, schistosomiasis remains a global public health problem. To further reduce prevalence and intensity of infection, or to achieve the goal of elimination in low-endemic areas, there needs to be better diagnostic tools to detect low- intensity infections in low-endemic areas in Brazil. The rationale for development of new diagnostic tools is that the current standard test Kato-Katz (KK) is not sensitive enough to detect low-intensity infections in low-endemic areas. In order to develop new diagnostic tools, we employed a proteomics approach to identify biomarkers associated with schisto- some-specific immune responses in hopes of developing sensitive and specific new meth- ods for immunodiagnosis. Methods and findings Immunoproteomic analyses were performed on egg extracts of Schistosoma mansoni using pooled sera from infected or non-infected individuals from a low-endemic area of Brazil. Cross reactivity with other soil-transmitted helminths (STH) was determined using pooled sera from individuals uniquely infected with different helminths. Using this approach, we identified 23 targets recognized by schistosome acute and chronic sera samples. To identify immunoreactive targets that were likely glycan epitopes, we compared these targets to the immunoreactivity of spots treated with sodium metaperiodate oxidation of egg extract. This treatment yielded 12/23 spots maintaining immunoreactivity, suggesting that they were protein epitopes. From these 12 spots, 11 spots cross-reacted with sera from individuals infected with other STH and 10 spots cross-reacted with the negative control group. Spot number 5 was exclusively immunoreactive with sera from S. mansoni-infected groups in native and deglycosylated conditions and corresponds to Major Egg Antigen (MEA). We expressed MEA as a recombinant protein and showed a similar recognition pattern to that of the native protein via western blot. IgG-ELISA gave a sensitivity of 87.10% and specificity of 89.09% represented by area under the ROC curve of 0.95. IgG-ELISA performed better than the conventional KK (2 slides), identifying 56/64 cases harboring 1–10 eggs per gram of feces that were undiagnosed by KK parasitological technique. Conclusions The serological proteome approach was able to identify a new diagnostic candidate. The recombinant egg antigen provided good performance in IgG-ELISA to detect individuals with extreme low-intensity infections (1 egg per gram of feces). Therefore, the IgG-ELISA using this newly identified recombinant MEA can be a useful tool combined with other techniques in low-endemic areas to determine the true prevalence of schistosome infection that is underestimated by the KK method. Further, to overcome the complexity of ELISA in the field, a second generation of antibody-based rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) can be developed.Item Serological proteomic screening and evaluation of a recombinant egg antigen for the diagnosis of low-intensity Schistosoma mansoni infections in endemic area in Brazil.(2019) Moraes, Vanessa Silva; Shollenberger, Lisa Marie; Borges, William de Castro; Rabello, Ana Lúcia Teles; Harn, Donald A.; Medeiros, Lia Carolina Almeida Soares; Jeremias, Wander de Jesus; Siqueira, Liliane Maria Vidal; Pereira, Caroline Stephane Salviano; Pedrosa, Maria Luysa de Camargos; Almeida, Nathalie Bonatti Franco; Oliveira, Áureo Almeida de; Lambertucci, José Roberto; Carneiro, Nídia Francisca de Figueiredo; Coelho, Paulo Marcos Zech; Grenfell, Rafaella Fortini QueirozBackground: Despite decades of use of control programs, schistosomiasis remains a global public health problem. To further reduce prevalence and intensity of infection, or to achieve the goal of elimination in low-endemic areas, there needs to be better diagnostic tools to detect low-intensity infections in low-endemic areas in Brazil. The rationale for development of new diagnostic tools is that the current standard test Kato-Katz (KK) is not sensitive enough to detect low-intensity infections in low-endemic areas. In order to develop new diagnostic tools, we employed a proteomics approach to identify biomarkers associated with schistosome-specific immune responses in hopes of developing sensitive and specific new methods for immunodiagnosis. Methods and findings: Immunoproteomic analyses were performed on egg extracts of Schistosoma mansoni using pooled sera from infected or non-infected individuals from a low-endemic area of Brazil. Cross reactivity with other soil-transmitted helminths (STH) was determined using pooled sera from individuals uniquely infected with different helminths. Using this approach, we identified 23 targets recognized by schistosome acute and chronic sera samples. To identify immunoreactive targets that were likely glycan epitopes, we compared these targets to the immunoreactivity of spots treated with sodium metaperiodate oxidation of egg extract. This treatment yielded 12/23 spots maintaining immunoreactivity, suggesting that they were protein epitopes. From these 12 spots, 11 spots cross-reacted with sera from individuals infected with other STH and 10 spots cross-reacted with the negative control group. Spot number 5 was exclusively immunoreactive with sera from S. mansoni-infected groups in native and deglycosylated conditions and corresponds to Major Egg Antigen (MEA). We expressed MEA as a recombinant protein and showed a similar recognition pattern to that of the native protein via western blot. IgG-ELISA gave a sensitivity of 87.10% and specificity of 89.09% represented by area under the ROC curve of 0.95. IgG-ELISA performed better than the conventional KK (2 slides), identifying 56/64 cases harboring 1–10 eggs per gram of feces that were undiagnosed by KK parasitological technique. Conclusions: The serological proteome approach was able to identify a new diagnostic candidate. The recombinant egg antigen provided good performance in IgG-ELISA to detect individuals with extreme low-intensity infections (1 egg per gram of feces). Therefore, the IgG-ELISA using this newly identified recombinant MEA can be a useful tool combined with other techniques in low-endemic areas to determine the true prevalence of schistosome infection that is underestimated by the KK method. Further, to overcome the complexity of ELISA in the field, a second generation of antibody-based rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) can be developed.Item Tetraspanin co029 expression as a tumor biomarker for monoclonal antibodies preparation : antigenic assessment in colorectal cancer cells.(2022) Coutinho, Lucelia; Corsini, Camila; Assis, Jessica; Pedrosa, Maria Luysa; Jeremias, Wander de Jesus; Santos, Viviane; Cabral, Monica; Mesquita, Ana Sofia; Viviani, Matheus; Rodrigues, Angelica Nogueira; Grenfell, Rafaella Fortini QueirozIntroduction: The identification of innovative cancer biomarkers is a very relevant ongoing quest. Moreover, their role in cancer diagnosis and clinical management has been radically changed in the last few years with the major emphasis on cancer molecular classification, therapeutic target identification, and therapeutic protocol responsivity. tetraspanins are a family of transmembrane proteins correlated with tumor stage, tumor type and patient out- come affecting cell growth, morphology, invasion, and metastasis. Methods: We expressed the 31kDa transmembrane human tetraspanin co029 antigen in Escherichia coli expression host cells using Gateway® platform. Western blotting and ELISA techniques, together with gene sequencing, confirmed the identity of TSP co029 recombinant protein. Forty clones producing antibodies against TSP co029 were obtained. These antibodies were incubated with human colorectal cancer cells in different conditions. ELISA and immunohistochemistry were also performed. Results: The expressed tetraspanin had an appropriate conformation and antigenic integrity to produce antibodies with affinity to the native TSP co029 biomarker. The affinity of the purified recombinant protein and antibodies were confirmed by western blotting, florescent staining of human colorectal cancer cells in fluorescence and confocal microscopies and by ELISA and immunohistochemistry. Conclusion: Our data showed that the recombinant protein and antibodies produced in this study allowed the confirmation of tetraspanin co029 protein presented on the surface of human colorectal cancer cells.