Browsing by Author "Pinheiro, Melina Barros"

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    Comparative evaluation of phenol and thimerosal as preservatives for a candidate vaccine against American cutaneous leishmaniasis.
    (2010) Mayrink, Wilson; Tavares, Carlos Alberto Pereira; Deus, Rosângela Barbosa de; Pinheiro, Melina Barros; Guimarães, Tânia Mara Pinto Dabés; Andrade, Hélida Monteiro de; Costa, Carlos Alberto da; Toledo, Vicente de Paulo Coelho Peixoto de
    For decades thimerosal has been used as a preservative in the candidate vaccine for cutaneous leishmaniasis, which was developed by Mayrink et al. The use of thimerosal in humans has been banned due to its mercury content. This study addresses the standardization of phenol as a new candidate vaccine preservative. We have found that the proteolytic activity was abolished when the test was conducted using the candidate vaccine added to merthiolate (MtVac) as well as to phenol (PhVac). The Montenegro’s skin test conversion rates induced by MtVac and by PhVac was 68.06% and 85.9%, respectively, and these values were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The proliferative response of peripheral mononuclear blood cells shows that the stimulation index of mice immunized with both candidate vaccines was higher than the one in control animals (p < 0.05). The ability of the candidate vaccines to induce protection in C57BL/10 mice against a challenge with infective Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes was tested and the mice immunized with PhVac developed smaller lesions than the mice immunized with MtVac. Electrophoresis of phenol-preserved antigen revealed a number of proteins, which were better preserved in PhVac. These results do in fact encourage the use of phenol for preserving the immunogenic and biochemical properties of the candidate vaccine for cutaneous leishmaniasis.
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    Neuroserpin : a potential biomarker for early-onset severe preeclampsia.
    (2023) Perucci, Luiza Oliveira; Silva, Sirlaine Pio Gomes da; Bearzoti, Eduardo; Pinto, Kelerson Mauro de Castro; Alpoim, Patrícia Nessralla; Pinheiro, Melina Barros; Godoi, Lara Carvalho; Moraes, Lauro Ângelo Gonçalves de; Sousa, Lirlândia Pires de; Dusse, Luci Maria Sant'Ana; Silva, André Talvani Pedrosa da
    Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disease of pregnancy associated with intense inflammatory and pro-coagulant responses. Neuroserpin is a serine protease inhibitor that has been involved in neurological and immune pro- cesses and has not yet been investigated in preeclampsia. Herein, we evaluated neuroserpin levels in association with other inflammatory mediators (IL-17A, IL-33, and CXCL-16) during severe preeclampsia. The mediators’ plasma levels were measured by immunoassays in 24 pregnant women with severe preeclampsia (early pre- eclampsia: N = 17, late preeclampsia: N = 7), 34 normotensive pregnant women, and 32 non-pregnant women. In general, pregnancy was associated with higher levels of neuroserpin, IL-17A, IL-33, and CXCL-16 than the non- pregnant state. However, this increase was attenuated in pregnancies complicated by severe preeclampsia. Although neuroserpin levels did not differ between normotensive pregnant women and pregnant women with severe preeclampsia, neuroserpin levels tended to be lower in early-onset than in late-onset severe preeclampsia. There were positive correlations between neuroserpin and IL-17A, neuroserpin and CXCL-16, and IL-17A and CXCL-16 levels in women with severe preeclampsia. In addition, although the risk for developing severe pre- eclampsia was higher in older women in this study, maternal age did not significantly influence the mediators’ levels, nor their correlations in the preeclampsia group. In summary, our data suggest that neuroserpin might be a potential biomarker for early-onset severe preeclampsia and, that the imbalance among neuroserpin, IL-17A, IL-33, and CXCL-16 levels may be associated with the pathogenesis of preeclampsia, regardless of the maternal age.