Browsing by Author "Malaquias, Luiz Cosme Cotta"
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Item Avaliação protéica de uma nova multimistura com base no milho QPM BR 473.(2004) Glória, Enara Cristina Silva; Almeida, Nízia Araújo Vieira; Costa, Alexandre Sylvio Vieira da; Henriques Júnior, Edinete; Martins, Sandra Lagatta; Paula, Heberth de; Silva, Marcelo Eustáquio; Santos, Rinaldo Cardoso dos; Malaquias, Luiz Cosme CottaA multimistura tem sido utilizada no Brasil pela Pastoral da Criança, em parceria com governos municipais, a fim de reduzir a desnutrição infantil. Não obstante, a eficácia deste suplemento tem sido constantemente arguida, devido à possível presença de fatores antinutricionais. No presente trabalho descrevemos a avaliação biológica de um suplemento contendo milho QPM BR473. Trinta e seis ratos Wistar machos, com 21-23 dias de idade, foram divididos em seis grupos de seis animais cada e alimentados com dietas de caseína contendo multimistura pura, com QPM BR473, láctea (contendo leite em pó), láctea contendo QPM BR473 ou a multimistura proposta (contendo QPM BR473, farinhas de aveia, soja e banana e açúcar mascavo). Mediu-se a Retenção Protéica Líquida. A condição microbiológica dos suplementos e seu custo foram também determinados. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que o QPM BR473 pode ser usado em suplementos nutricionais, com alto valor nutritivo, expresso por sua qualidade protéica, e com baixa relação custo/benefício.Item Biological evaluation of a nutritional supplement prepared with QPM Maize cultivar BR 473 and other traditional food items.(2004) Paula, Heberth de; Santos, Rinaldo Cardoso dos; Silva, Marcelo Eustáquio; Glória, Enara Cristina Silva; Pedrosa, Maria Lúcia; Almeida, Nízia Araújo Vieira; Costa, Alexandre Sylvio Vieira da; Malaquias, Luiz Cosme CottaQuality Protein Maize (QPM) cultivar BR 473 was employed, together with soybean flour, brown sugar, banana meal and oat meal, for the preparation of a nutritional supplement.. 21-day old male Fisher rats were fed diets containing the supplement as a protein source, both with and without soybean flour; casein diets with 10 or 7% protein served as respective controls. Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER), Net Protein Utilization (NPU), Net Protein Retention (NPR) and Digestibility were determined. Blood biochemical parameters (glucose, cholesterol, urea, hemoglobin, albumin and total protein) were also measured in the animals and showed that all were in good health condition at the end of the experiment. The obtained results for PER, NPU and NPR indicated that the supplement prepared with QPM maize cultivar BR 473 was a good protein source, especially when soybean flour was added.Item Descriptive study of American tegumentary leishmaniasis in the urban area of the Municipality of Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais State, Brazil.(2011) Miranda, Thiago Mourão de; Malaquias, Luiz Cosme Cotta; Escalda, Patrícia Maria Fonseca; Ramalho, Katiuscia Cardoso; Vital, Wendel Coura; Silva, Alexandre Rotondo da; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Reis, Alexandre BarbosaTo understand the emergence and re-emergence pattern of American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL), the clinical and epidemiological profiles and the spatial distribution of the disease were evaluated between 2001 and 2006 in an endemic area located in the Rio Doce valley in the north-eastern part of the Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The number of reported cases increased from six in the first year to 111 in the last year during this period. Disease cases predominated in the urban area (75.9%) and affected males and females equally in all age groups. The transmission of ATL occurred within dwellings and the surrounding areas, with the largest number of reported cases originating from poor areas, particularly those located on the margins of the Rio Doce lacking suitable sanitary infrastructure. Diagnosis was based on clinical criteria and the Montenegro skin test, with most patients (93.8%) exhibiting the cutaneous form of ATL. First-line treatment involved administration of pentavalent antimonial drugs (99.1%), and these provided a cure for > 75% of patients. The prevalence of ATL varied between 11.38 and 15.99 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, which is high in comparison with the national average. Urgent measures, including improved means of diagnosis at the local health units, education of schoolchildren and motivation of the general population, are required to decrease transmission and control the disease.Item High prevalence of dengue antibodies and the arginine variant of the FcγRIIa polymorphism in asymptomatic individuals in a population of Minas Gerais State, Southeast Brazil.(2017) Pereira, Anna Carolina Toledo da Cunha; Siqueira, Tatiane Ribeiro de; Prado, Andressa Anunciação de Oliveira; Silva, Camila Almeida Veiga da; Moraes, Thaís de Fátima Silva; Aleixo, Alan Alex; Magalhães, José Carlos de; Souza, Gabriel Augusto Pires de; Drumond, Betânia Paiva; Ferreira, Gustavo Portela; Silva, Breno de Mello; Magalhães, Cíntia Lopes de Brito; Santos, Luciana Lara; Ferreira, Jaqueline Maria Siqueira; Malaquias, Luiz Cosme Cotta; Coelho, Luiz Felipe LeomilDengue is the most prevalent arthropod-borne viral illness in humans worldwide. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes involved in the immune response, such as dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-3-grabbing non-integrin (DC-SIGN), IgG Fc receptor II-A (FcγRIIa), vitamin D receptor (VDR), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), were previously reported to be associated with susceptibility to dengue disease in different human populations. Therefore, due to the relevant association of host immune and genetic status with disease susceptibility/severity of dengue, this work aims to verify the frequency of anti-dengue virus antibodies and some dengue-associated risk SNPs in a population in Minas Gerais State, Southeast Brazil. A total of 1560 individuals were genotyped for polymorphisms in DC-SIGN (rs4804803), FcγRIIa (rs1801274), VDR (rs7975232), and TNF-α (rs1800629). The presence of anti-dengue antibodies (IgM and/or IgG) in these samples was also assayed. Anti-dengue antibodies were detected at an overall frequency of 16.86%, indicating a virus infection in asymptomatic individuals. The genotypic frequencies of all SNPs studied did not differ between the asymptomatic and control groups. Regarding the allelic frequencies of the four SNPs analyzed, a higher frequency was detected of the G allele of FcγRIIa/rs1801274 in the asymptomatic individuals when compared to that in the control group (p =0.03). Therefore, the results showed a high prevalence of asymptomatic individuals in Minas Gerais State, with a potential association between the presence of the G allele of FcγRIIa/rs1801274 and protection against symptomatic disease.Item Histological study of cell migration in the dermis of hamsters after immunisation with two different vaccines against visceral leishmaniasis.(2009) Moreira, Nádia das Dores; Giunchetti, Rodolfo Cordeiro; Carneiro, Cláudia Martins; Souza, Juliana Vitoriano de; Roatt, Bruno Mendes; Malaquias, Luiz Cosme Cotta; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Reis, Alexandre BarbosaVaccine candidates, including live and/or killed parasites, Leishmania -purified fractions, defined recombinant antigens and antigen-encoding DNA-plasmids have been proposed to use as vaccine anti- Leishmania . More recently, the hamsters have been used to pre selection of antigens candidate to apply in further experiments using canine model. In this report we evaluated the kinetics of cell migration in dermal inflammatory infiltrate, circulating leukocytes and the presence of nitric oxide (NO)/induced nitric oxide synthase during the early (1–24 h) and late (48–168 h) periods following inoculation of hamsters with antigenic components of anti-canine visceral leishmaniasis vaccines Leishmune 1 and Leishmania braziliensis antigen (LB) with and without saponin (Sap) adjuvant. Our results show that LB caused an early reduction of lymphocytes in the dermis while Sap and LBSap triggered a late recruitment, suggesting the role of the adjuvant in the traffic of antigen-presenting cells and the induction of lymphocyte migration. In that manner our results suggest that the kinetics of cell migration on hamster model may be of value in the selection of vaccine antigens prior the tests in dogs particularly in respect of the toxicity of the preparations.Item Immunogenicity of a killed Leishmania vaccine with saponin adjuvant in dogs.(2007) Giunchetti, Rodolfo Cordeiro; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Martins Filho, Olindo Assis; Carvalho, Andréa Teixeira de; Roatt, Bruno Mendes; Soares, Rodrigo Dian de Oliveira Aguiar; Souza, Juliana Vitoriano de; Moreira, Nádia das Dores; Malaquias, Luiz Cosme Cotta; Castro, Luciana Lisboa Mota e; Lana, Marta de; Reis, Alexandre BarbosaCellular and humoral immune responses of dogs to a candidate vaccine, composed of Leishmania braziliensis promastigote protein plus saponin as adjuvant, have been investigated as a pre-requisite to understanding the mechanisms of immunogenicity against canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL). The candidate vaccine elicited strong antigenicity related to the increases of anti- Leishmania IgG isotypes, together with higher levels of lymphocytes, particularly of circulating CD8 + T-lymphocytes and Leishmania chagasi antigen-specific CD8 + T-lymphocytes. As indicated by the intense cell proliferation and increased nitric oxide production during in vitro stimulation by L. chagasisoluble antigens, the candidate vaccine elicited an immune activation status potentially compatible with effective control of the etiological agent of CVL.Item Immunological changes in canine peripheral blood leukocytes triggered by immunization with first or second generation vaccines against canine visceral leishmaniasis.(2011) Araújo, Márcio Sobreira Silva; Andrade, Renata Aline de; Avelar, Renato Sathler; Magalhães, Camila Paula; Carvalho, Andréa Teixeira de; Andrade, Mariléia Chaves; Campolina, Sabrina Sidney; Melo, Maria Norma; Vianna, Leonardo Rocha; Mayrink, Wilson; Reis, Alexandre Barbosa; Malaquias, Luiz Cosme Cotta; Rocha, Luciana Morais; Martins Filho, Olindo AssisIn this study, we summarized the major phenotypic/functional aspects of circulating leuko-cytes following canine immunization with Leishvaccine and Leishmune ®. Our findings showed that Leishvaccine triggered early changes in the innate immunity (neutrophils and eosinophils) with late alterations on monocytes. Conversely, Leishmune ® induced early phenotypic changes in both, neutrophils and monocytes. Moreover, Leishvaccine triggered mixed activation-related phenotypic changes on T-cells (CD4 + and CD8 +) and B-lymphocytes, hereas Leishmune® promoted a selective response, mainly associated with CD8 + T-cell activation. Mixed cytokine profile (IFN- /IL-4) was observed in Leishvaccine immunized dogs whereas a selective pro-inflammatory pattern (IFN- /NO) was induced by Leishmune ® vaccination. The distinct immunological profile triggered by Leishvaccine and Leishmune ® may be a direct consequence of the distinct biochemical composition of these immunobiological, i.e. complex versus purified Leishmaniaantigen along with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) versus saponin adjuvant. Both immunobiologicals are able to acti-vate phagocytes and CD8 + T-cells and therefore could be considered as a putative vaccines against canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL)Item A killed Leishmania vaccine with sand fly saliva extract and saponin adjuvant displays immunogenicity in dogs.(2008) Giunchetti, Rodolfo Cordeiro; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Martins Filho, Olindo Assis; Carvalho, Andréa Teixeira de; Roatt, Bruno Mendes; Soares, Rodrigo Dian de Oliveira Aguiar; Vital, Wendel Coura; Abreu, Raquel Trópia de; Malaquias, Luiz Cosme Cotta; Gontijo, Nelder de Figueiredo; Brodskyn, Cláudia; Oliveira, Camila Indiani de; Costa, Dirceu Joaquim; Lana, Marta de; Reis, Alexandre BarbosaA vaccine against canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL), comprising Leishmania braziliensispromastigote protein, sand fly gland extract (SGE) and saponin adjuvant, was eval-uated in dog model, in order to analyse the immunogenicity of the candidate vaccine. The vaccine candidate elicited strong antigenicity in dogs in respect of specific SGE andLeishmania humoral immune response. The major saliva proteins recognized by serum from immunized dogs exhibited molecular weights of 35 and 45 kDa, and were related to the resistance pattern against Leishmaniainfection. Immunophenotypic analysis revealed increased circulating CD21 + B-cells and CD5 + T-cells, reflected by higher counts of CD4 + and CD8 + T-cells. The observed interac-tion between potential antigen-presenting cells (evaluated as CD14 + monocytes) and lymphocyte activation status indicated a relationship between innate and adaptive immune responses. The higher frequency in L. chagasi antigen-specific CD8 + T-lymphocytes, and their positive association with intense cell proliferation, in addition to the progressively higher production of serum nitric oxide levels, showed a profile compatible with anti-CVL vaccine potential. Further studies on immunological response after challenge with L. chagasi may provide important information that will lead to a better understanding on vaccine trial and efficacy.Item Nanoparticles as vaccines to prevent arbovirus infection : a long road ahead.(2021) Souza, Gabriel Augusto Pires de; Rocha, Raíssa Prado; Gonçalves, Ricardo Lemes; Ferreira, Cyntia Silva; Silva, Breno de Mello; Castro, Renato Fróes Goulart de; Rodrigues, João Francisco Vitório; Vieira Júnior, João Carlos Vilela; Malaquias, Luiz Cosme Cotta; Abrahão, Jônatas Santos; Coelho, Luiz Felipe LeomilArthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are a significant public health problem worldwide. Vaccination is considered one of the most effective ways to control arbovirus diseases in the human population. Nanoparticles have been widely explored as new vaccine platforms. Although nanoparticles’ potential to act as new vaccines against infectious diseases has been identified, nanotechnology’s impact on developing new vaccines to prevent arboviruses is unclear. Thus, we used a comprehensive bibliographic survey to integrate data concerning the use of diverse nanoparticles as vaccines against medically important arboviruses. Our analysis showed that considerable research had been conducted to develop and evaluate nanovaccines against Chikungunya virus, Dengue virus, Zika virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, and West Nile virus. The main findings indicate that nanoparticles have great potential for use as a new vaccine system against arboviruses. Most of the studies showed an increase in neutralizing antibody production after mouse immunization. Nevertheless, even with significant advances in this field, further efforts are necessary to address the nanoparticles’ potential to act as a vaccine against these arboviruses. To promote advances in the field, we proposed a roadmap to help researchers better characterize and evaluate nanovaccines against medically important arboviruses.Item Qualitative and quantitative immunohistochemical evaluation of iNOS expression in the spleen of dogs naturally infected with leishmania chagasi.(2011) Santos, Fernando Rocha dos; Vieira, Paula Melo de Abreu; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Giunchetti, Rodolfo Cordeiro; Carneiro, Claudia Martins; Reis, Alexandre Barbosa; Malaquias, Luiz Cosme CottaNitric oxide (NO), the product of the nitric oxide synthase enzymes has been detected in Leishmania-infected animals. Besides its role on the immunity to infection, the role of NO and the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the pathogenesis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) is not well understood. This study aimed at evaluating immunohistochemically the iNOS expression in the spleen of dogs naturally infected (ID) with Leishmania (L.) chagasi compared with non-infected dogs (NID). The ID was grouped according to the clinical form and the parasite load. Symptomatic dogs (SD) presented higher parasite load in relation to oligosymptomatic (OD) and asymptomatic (AD). The qualitative expression of iNOS was observed only in ID. SD presented strong and prominent labeling of iNOS, followed by OD and AD. Quantitatively, the results showed that the median expression of iNOS was higher in SD and OD compared to NID. Also, dog spleens with high parasitism load showed marked iNOS expression. Taken together, the results suggest that the expression of iNOS in the spleen of infected dogs with CVL was associated with clinical worsening of the disease and with high parasitism.Item Serological screening confirms the re-emergence of canine leishmaniasis in urban and rural areas in Governador Valadares, Vale do Rio Doce, Minas Gerais, Brazil.(2007) Malaquias, Luiz Cosme Cotta; Romualdo, Rodrigo do Carmo; Anjos Junior, José Batista do; Giunchetti, Rodolfo Cordeiro; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Reis, Alexandre BarbosaThis study performed clinical, serological and parasitological assessments in dogs from Vale do Rio Doce, in Minas Gerais State, Brazil, a region considered as a ‘controlled endemic’ area for canine visceral leishmaniosis (CVL). Nevertheless, there are signs that CVL in dogs may be re-emerging as a programme to control the disease was interrupted in the 1990s. The majority of the animals examined presented various symptoms associated with CVL. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test indicated 13.7 and 12.4% of positivity of dogs from the urban and rural areas, respectively. According to indirect immunofluorescence assay test and TRALd tests, 18.2 and 42.2% of dogs in the rural area were seropositive, respectively. Parasitism in seropositive dogs was confirmed by in vitro tissue culture. Sand flies of the genus Lutzomyia, which are able to transmit both cutaneous and visceral leishmaniosis, were found in the area. The results provide a strong evidence of the re-emergence of CVL in this region.Item T-cell-derived cytokines, nitric oxide production by peripheral blood monocytes and seric anti- Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi IgG subclass patterns following immunization against canine visceral leishmaniasis using Leishvaccine and Leishmune ®.(2009) Araújo, Márcio Sobreira Silva; Andrade, Renata Aline de; Avelar, Renato Sathler; Carvalho, Andréa Teixeira de; Andrade, Mariléia Chaves; Vianna, Leonardo Rocha; Mayrink, Wilson; Reis, Alexandre Barbosa; Malaquias, Luiz Cosme Cotta; Melo, Maria Norma; Martins Filho, Olindo AssisIt is generally accepted that distinct cytokine expression by the cellular immune response plays a critica role during the outcome of experimental as well as natural canine visceral Leishmaniasis (CVL). Despite the fact that immunoprophylaxis of CVL has become an important control strategy and protective immunity has been reported upon immunization with whole as well as purifiedLeishmaniaantigens, the cytokine profile of T-cells triggered by anti-CVL vaccines still remain to be determined. Herein, we have developed a cross-sectional analysis of German Shepherd dogs submitted to vaccination protocols with Leishvaccine (n = 6) and Leishmune ® (n = 6). Our data identified distinct immunological profiles elicited by Leishvaccine and Leishmune ® , with the Leishvaccine triggering a mixed, IFN- and IL-4, cytokine pattern in addition to high levels of anti- LeishmaniaIgG1, whereas the Leishmune ® induced an immunological pattern char- acterized by enhanced levels of IFN- , NO and anti- Leishmania chagasi IgG2. It was important to notice that despite the distinct immunological patterns triggered by Leishvaccine and Leishmune ® , the ability of both immunobiologicals to activate T-cell-derived IFN- synthesis further suggesting their immunogenic potential against CVL. These findings added support to our hypothesis that both antigenic composition (whole antigen in Leishvaccine versus purified antigen in Leishmune ® ) as well as the adjuvant nature (BGC and saponin) used for the vaccine formulation may count for the distinct activation pattern observed.Item A tetravalent dengue nanoparticle stimulates antibody production in mice.(2012) Silva, Elisângela; Orsi, Mariana; Andrade, Ângela Leão; Domingues, Rosana Zacarias; Silva, Breno de Mello; Araújo, Helena de; Pimenta, Paulo Filemon Paolucci; Diamond, Michael; Rocha, Eliseu; Kroon, Erna Geessien; Malaquias, Luiz Cosme Cotta; Coelho, LuizDengue is a major public health problem worldwide, especially in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Infection with a single Dengue virus (DENV) serotype causes a mild, self-limiting febrile illness called dengue fever. However, a subset of patients experiencing secondary infection with a different serotype progresses to the severe form of the disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome. Currently, there are no licensed vaccines or antiviral drugs to prevent or treat dengue infections. Biodegradable nanoparticles coated with proteins represent a promising method for in vivo delivery of vaccines.Item Trypanosoma cruzi : serum levels of nitric oxide and expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase in myocardium and spleen of dogs in the acute stage of infection with metacyclic or blood trypomastigotes.(2009) Vieira, Paula Melo de Abreu; Francisco, Amanda Fortes; Souza, Sheler Martins de; Malaquias, Luiz Cosme Cotta; Reis, Alexandre Barbosa; Giunchetti, Rodolfo Cordeiro; Veloso, Vanja Maria; Lana, Marta de; Tafuri, Wagner Luiz; Carneiro, Cláudia MartinsThe par tic i pa tion of nitric oxide (NO) in the con trol of blood par a si te mia and par a sit ism dur ing the acute phase of infec tion in dogs inoc u lated with blood try pom astig otes ( BT) or meta cy clic try pom astig otes (MT group) of Bere nice -78 Try pan o soma cru zi strain has been eval u ated. Ani mals of the MT group (n = 4) pre sented increased lev els of serum NO through out the infec tion when com pared with the BT ( n = 4) or con trol (n = 4) groups, and a delay in par a si te mia peak com pared with the BT group. In spleen frag ments, tis sue par a sit ism was not observed but the MT group pre sented larger areas asso ci ated with induc ible NO syn thase (iNOS) in rela tion to BT and con trol groups. Heart frag ments of MT-infected ani mals exhib ited com par a tively low tis sue par a sit ism and high iNOS expres sion, while ani mals of the BT group pre sented high inflam ma tory infil trate, high tis sue par a sit ism and low iNOS expres sion. These results indi cate that the source of inoc u lum can inter- fere with the devel op ment of the acute phase of Cha gas dis ease, and may also trig ger a dis tinct par a site–host inter ac tion dur ing this phase.