DEFAR - Artigos publicados em periódicos

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Activity of the new triazole derivative albaconazole against Trypanosoma (Schizotrypanum) cruzi in dog hosts.
(2004) Guedes, Paulo Marcos da Matta; Urbina, Julio Alberto; Lana, Marta de; Afonso, Luís Carlos Crocco; Veloso, Vanja Maria; Tafuri, Washington Luiz; Coelho, George Luiz Lins Machado; Chiari, Egler; Bahia, Maria Terezinha
Albaconazole is an experimental triazole derivative with potent and broad-spectrum antifungal activity and a remarkably long half-life in dogs, monkeys, and humans. In the present work, we investigated the in vivo activity of this compound against two strains of the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma (Schizotrypanum) cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas’ disease, using dogs as hosts. The T. cruzi strains used in the study were previously characterized (murine model) as susceptible (strain Berenice-78) and partially resistant (strain Y) to the drugs currently in clinical use, nifurtimox and benznidazole. Our results demonstrated that albaconazole is very effective in suppressing the proliferation of the parasite and preventing the death of infected animals. Furthermore, the parasitological, PCR, serological, and proliferative assay results indicated parasitological cure indices of 25 and 100% among animals inoculated with T. cruzi strain Y when they were treated with albaconazole at 1.5 mg/kg of body weight/day for 60 and 90 days, respectively. On the other hand, although albaconazole given at 1.5 mg/kg/day was very effective in suppressing the proliferation of the parasite in animals infected with the Berenice-78 T. cruzi strain, no parasitological cure was observed among them, even when a longer treatment period (150 doses) was used. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that albaconazole has trypanocidal activity in vivo and is capable of inducing radical parasitological cure, although natural resistance to this compound was also indicated. Furthermore, the compound can be used in long-term treatment schemes (60 to 150 days) with minimal toxicity and thus represents a potentially useful candidate for the treatment of human Chagas’ disease.
IgG isotype profile is correlated with cardiomegaly in Beagle dogs infected with distinct Trypanosoma cruzi strains.
(2008) Guedes, Paulo Marcos da Matta; Veloso, Vanja Maria; Gollob, Kenneth John; Afonso, Luís Carlos Crocco; Caldas, Ivo Santana; Vianna, Priscila; Lana, Marta de; Chiari, Egler; Bahia, Maria Terezinha; Galvão, Lúcia Maria da Cunha
A systematic study following infection by various strains of the protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, and the simultaneous monitoring of the humoral immune response together with the elicited cellular response, could add greatly to our understanding of differences between strains of this important human pathogen. In that sense, acute and chronic infections with distinct T. cruzi strains (Y, Berenice-78 and ABC) in Beagle dogs were studied through a longitudinal evaluation of immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgG1 and IgG2 isotypes (by ELISA and flow cytometry (FC)), as well as measurements of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proliferation over a 100-week period, and their correlation with cardiomegaly. Our results show that infected animals presenting cardiomegaly showed lower or absent levels of IgG1 during the chronic phase of the infection, when compared to those that did not show an increase in heart weight. In that manner, our results suggest that IgG1 could be used as a marker for cardiac pathogenicity in Chagas disease.
Intramuscular immunization with p36(LACK) DNA vaccine induces IFN-gama production but does not protect BALB/c mice against Leishmania chagasi intravenous challenge.
(2005) Silva, Eduardo de Almeida Marques da; Coelho, Eduardo Antônio Ferraz; Gomes, Daniel Cláudio de Oliveira; Vilela, Márcia de Carvalho; Masioli, Cássio Zumerle; Tavares, Carlos Alberto Pereira; Fernandes, Ana Paula Salles Moura; Afonso, Luís Carlos Crocco; Rezende, Simone Aparecida
Acute visceral leishmaniasis is a progressive disease caused by Leishmania chagasi in South America. The acquisition of immunity following infection suggests that vaccination is a feasible approach to protect against this disease. Since Leishmania homologue of receptors for activated C kinase (LACK) antigen is of particular interest as a vaccine candidate because of the prominent role it plays in the pathogenesis of experimental Leishmania major infection, we evaluated the potential of a p36(LACK) DNA vaccine in protecting BALB/c mice challenged with L. chagasi. In this study, mice received intramuscular (i.m.) or subcutaneous (s.c.) doses of LACK DNA vaccine. We evaluated the production of vaccine-induced cytokines and whether this immunization was able to reduce parasite load in liver and spleen. We detected a significant production of interferon gamma by splenocytes from i.m. vaccinated mice in response to L. chagasi antigen and to rLACK protein. However, we did not observe a reduction in parasite load neither in liver nor in the spleen of vaccinated animals. The lack of protection observed may be explained by a significant production of IL-10 induced by the vaccine.
New lager brewery strains obtained by crossing techniques using cachaça (Brazilian Spirit) yeasts.
(2017) Figueiredo, Bruna Inez Carvalho de; Saraiva, Margarete Alice Fontes; Pimenta, Paloma Patrick de Souza; Testasicca, Miriam Conceição de Souza; Sampaio, Geraldo Magela Santos; Cunha, Aureliano Claret da; Afonso, Luís Carlos Crocco; Queiroz, Marisa Vieira de; Castro, Ieso de Miranda; Brandão, Rogélio Lopes
The development of hybrids has been an effective approach to generate novel yeast strains with optimal technological profile for use in beer production. This study describes the generation of a new yeast strain for lager beer production by direct mating between two Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from cachaça distilleries: one that was strongly flocculent, and the other with higher production of acetate esters. The first step in this procedure was to analyze the sporulation ability and reproductive cycle of strains belonging to a specific collection of yeasts isolated from cachaça fermentation vats. Most strains showed high rates of sporulation, spore viability, and homothallic behavior. In order to obtain new yeast strains with desirable properties useful for lager beer production, we compare haploid-to-haploid and diploid-to-diploid mating procedures. Moreover, an assessment of parental phenotype traits showed that the segregant diploid C2-1d generated from a diploid-to-diploid mating experiment showed good fermentation performance at low temperature, high flocculation capacity, and desirable production of acetate esters that was significantly better than that of one type lager strain. Therefore, strain C2-1d might be an important candidate for the production of lager beer, with distinct fruit traces and originating using a non-genetically modified organism (GMO) approach.