EFAR - Escola de Farmácia

URI permanente desta comunidadehttp://www.hml.repositorio.ufop.br/handle/123456789/451

Notícias

O curso de Farmácia em Ouro Preto foi criado em 1839, sendo a mais antiga Escola de Farmácia da América Latina.

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Resultados da Pesquisa

Agora exibindo 1 - 10 de 46
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    Population pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of benznidazole in mice.
    (2020) Melo, Luísa Helena Perin de; Pinto, Leonardo Santos Ribeiro; Nardotto, Glauco Henrique Balthazar; Fonseca, Kátia da Silva; Paiva, Beatriz Oliveira; Mendes, Thaís Fernanda Rodrigues Bastos; Molina, Israel; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Vieira, Paula Melo de Abreu; Carneiro, Cláudia Martins
    Objectives: To evaluate the population pharmacokinetics of different benznidazole treatment regimens and the drug’s biodistribution in mice. Methods: Two hundred mice were divided into five groups according to benznidazole dosing regimens: (1) 100 mg/kg/day for 20 days; (2) 100 mg/kg/day for 40 days; (3) 200 mg/kg/day for 20 days; (4) 40 mg/kg/day for 20 days; or (5) 40 mg/kg/day for 40 days. The mice were euthanized and blood, heart, liver, colon and brain were collected. Samples were prepared by liquid-liquid extraction and analysed by HPLC-diode-array detection. The pharmacokinetic analysis of benznidazole was evaluated via non-linear mixed-effects modelling using the NONMEN program. Results: Our results demonstrate that mouse weight allometrically influences benznidazole clearance; the AUC curve and the highest plasma concentration are dose proportional; benznidazole does not influence its own metabolism; its tissue distribution is limited; and the standard treatment regimen for Chagas’ disease in mice (100 mg/kg/day for 20 days) is inadequate from a pharmacokinetic standpoint, as are the other regimens tested in this study (100 mg/kg/day for 40 days, 200 mg/kg/day for 20 days and 40 mg/kg/day for 20 or 40 days). Conclusions: Benznidazole reformulations that allow better tissue penetration and plasma and tissue exposure should be evaluated to enable higher cure rates in both animals and patients. The population pharmacokinetic model developed here can allow optimization of the dosing regimen of benznidazole to treat experimental Chagas’ disease. Determining appropriate treatment regimens in animals allows translation of these to clinical studies.
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    Chimeric vaccines designed by immunoinformatics-activated polyfunctional and memory T cells that trigger protection against experimental visceral leishmaniasis.
    (2020) Brito, Rory Cristiane Fortes de; Ruiz, Jeronimo Conceição; Cardoso, Jamille Mirelle de Oliveira; Ostolin, Thais Lopes Valentim Di Paschoale; Reis, Levi Eduardo Soares; Mathias, Fernando Augusto Siqueira; Soares, Rodrigo Dian de Oliveira Aguiar; Roatt, Bruno Mendes; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Resende, Daniela de Melo; Reis, Alexandre Barbosa
    Many vaccine candidates against visceral leishmaniasis (VL) have been proposed; however, to date, none of them have been efficacious for the human or canine disease. On this basis, the design of leishmaniasis vaccines has been constantly changing, and the use of approaches to select specific epitopes seems to be crucial in this scenario. The ability to predict T cell-specific epitopes makes immunoinformatics an even more necessary approach, as in VL an efficient immune response against the parasite is triggered by T lymphocytes in response to Leishmania spp. immunogenic antigens. Moreover, the success of vaccines depends on the capacity to generate long-lasting memory and polyfunctional cells that are able to eliminate the parasite. In this sense, our study used a combination of different approaches to develop potential chimera candidate vaccines against VL. The first point was to identify the most immunogenic epitopes of Leishmania infantum proteins and construct chimeras composed of Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and II epitopes. For this, we used immunoinformatics features. Following this, we validated these chimeras in a murine model in a thorough memory study and multifunctionality of T cells that contribute to a better elucidation of the immunological protective mechanisms of polyepitope vaccines (chimera A and B) using multicolor flow cytometry. Our results showed that in silico-designed chimeras can elicit polyfunctional T cells producing T helper (Th)1 cytokines, a strong immune response against Leishmania antigen, and the generation of central and effector memory T cells in the spleen cells of vaccinated animals that was able to reduce the parasite burden in this organ. These findings contribute two potential candidate vaccines against VL that can be used in further studies, and help in this complex field of vaccine development against this challenging parasite.
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    Kinetics of phenotypic and functional changes in mouse models of sponge implants : rational selection to optimize protocols for specific biomolecules screening purposes.
    (2020) Lanna, Mariana Ferreira; Resende, Lucilene Aparecida; Soares, Rodrigo Dian de Oliveira Aguiar; Miranda, Marina Barcelos de; Mendonça, Ludmila Zanandreis de; Melo Júnior, Otoni Alves de Oliveira; Mariano, Reysla Maria da Silveira; Leite, Jaqueline Costa; Silveira, Patricia; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Dutra, Walderez Ornelas; Reis, Alexandre Barbosa; Martins Filho, Olindo Assis; Moura, Sandra Aparecida Lima de; Lemos, Denise da Silveira; Giunchetti, Rodolfo Cordeiro
    The sponge implant has been applied as an important in vivo model for the study of inflammatory processes as it induces the migration, proliferation, and accumulation of inflammatory cells, angiogenesis, and extracellular matrix deposition in its trabeculae. The characterization of immune events in sponge implants would be useful in identifying the immunological events that could support the selection of an appropriate experimental model (mouse strain) and time post-implant analysis in optimized protocols for novel applications of this model such as in biomolecules screening. Here, the changes in histological/morphometric, immunophenotypic and functional features of infiltrating leukocytes (LEU) were assessed in sponge implants for Swiss, BALB/c, and C57BL/6 mice. A gradual increase of fibrovascular stroma and a progressive decrease in LEU infiltration, mainly composed of polymorphonuclear cells with progressive shift toward mononuclear cells at late time-points were observed over time. Usually, Swiss mice presented a more prominent immune response with late mixed pattern (pro-inflammatory/anti-inflammatory: IL-2/IFN-γ/IL-4/IL-10/IL-17) of cytokine production. While BALB/c mice showed an early activation of the innate response with a controlled cytokine profile (low inflammatory potential), C57BL/6 mice presented a typical early pro-inflammatory (IL-6/TNF/IFN-γ) response with persistent neutrophilic involvement. A rational selection of the ideal time-point/mouse-lineage would avoid bias or tendentious results. Criteria such as low number of increased biomarkers, no recruitment of cytotoxic response, minor cytokine production, and lower biomarker connectivity (described as biomarker signature analysis and network analysis) guided the choice of the best time-point for each model (Day5/Swiss; Day7/BALB/c; Day6/C57BL/6) with wide application for screening purposes, such as identification of therapeutic biomolecules, selection of antigens/adjuvants, and follow-up of innate and adaptive immune response to vaccines candidates.
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    Phase I and II clinical trial comparing the LBSap, Leishmune®, and Leish-Tec® vaccines against canine visceral leishmaniasis.
    (2020) Soares, Rodrigo Dian de Oliveira Aguiar; Roatt, Bruno Mendes; Mathias, Fernando Augusto Siqueira; Reis, Levi Eduardo Soares; Cardoso, Jamille Mirelle de Oliveira; Brito, Rory Cristiane Fortes de; Ker, Henrique Gama; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Giunchetti, Rodolfo Cordeiro; Reis, Alexandre Barbosa
    In this study, we performed a phase I and II clinical trial in dogs to evaluate the toxicity and immunogenicity of LBSap-vaccine prototype, in comparison to Leishmune® and Leish-Tec® vaccines. Twenty-eight dogs were classified in four groups: (i) control group received 1 mL of sterile 0.9% saline solution; (ii) LBSap group received 600 µg of Leishmania braziliensis promastigotes protein and 1 mg of saponin adjuvant; (iii) Leishmune®; and (iv) Leish-Tec®. The safety and toxicity of the vaccines were measured before and after three immunizations by clinical, biochemical, and hematological parameters. The clinical examinations revealed that some dogs of LBSap and Leishmune® groups presented changes at the site of vaccination inoculum, such as nodules, mild edema, and local pain, which were transient and disappeared seventy-two hours after vaccination, but these results indicate that adverse changes caused by the immunizations are tolerable. The immunogenicity results demonstrate an increase of B lymphocytes CD21+ regarding the Leishmune® group and monocytes CD14+ concerning LBSap and Leishmune® groups. In the in vitro analyses, an increase in lymphoproliferative activity in LBSap and Leishmune® groups was observed, with an increase of antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes in the LBSap group. A second approach of in vitro assays aimed at evaluating the percentage of antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes producers of IFN-γ and IL-4, where an increase in both IFN-γ producing subpopulations in the LBSap group was observed, also showed an increase in IFN-γ producers in CD8+ lymphocytes in the Leish-Tec® group. Our data regarding immunogenicity indicate that the vaccination process, especially with the LBSap vaccine, generated a protective immune response compatible with L. infantum parasite control. Based on the foregoing, the LBSap vaccine would be suitable for further studies of phase III clinical trial in endemic areas with high prevalence and incidence of canine visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases.
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    Synthetic peptides elicit strong cellular immunity in Visceral Leishmaniasis natural reservoir and contribute to long-lasting polyfunctional T-cells in BALB/c mice.
    (2019) Brito, Rory Cristiane Fortes de; Cardoso, Jamille Mirelle de Oliveira; Reis, Levi Eduardo Soares; Mathias, Fernando Augusto Siqueira; Soares, Rodrigo Dian de Oliveira Aguiar; Carvalho, Andréa Teixeira de; Roatt, Bruno Mendes; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Ruiz, Jeronimo Conceição; Resende, Daniela de Melo; Reis, Alexandre Barbosa
    Reverse vaccinology or immunoinformatics is a computational methodology which integrates data from in silico epitope prediction, associated to other important information as, for example, the predicted subcellular location of the proteins used in the design of the context of vaccine development. This approach has the potential to search for new targets for vaccine development in the predicted proteome of pathogenic organisms. To date, there is no effective vaccine employed in vaccination campaigns against visceral leishmaniasis (VL). For the first time, herein, an in silico, in vitro, and in vivo peptide screening was performed, and immunogenic peptides were selected to constitute VL peptide-based vaccines. Firstly, the screening of in silico potential peptides using dogs naturally infected by L. infantum was conducted and the peptides with the best performance were selected. The mentioned peptides were used to compose Cockt-1 (cocktail 1) and Cockt-2 (cocktail 2) in combination with saponin as the adjuvant. Therefore, tests for immunogenicity, polyfunctional T-cells, and the ability to induce central and effector memory in T-lymphocytes capacity in reducing the parasite load on the spleen for Cockt-1 and Cockt-2 were performed. Among the vaccines under study, Cockt-1 showed the best results, eliciting CD4+ and CD8+ polyfunctional T-cells, with a reduction in spleen parasitism that correlates to the generation of T CD4+ central memory and T CD8+ effector memory cells. In this way, our findings corroborate the use of immunoinformatics as a tool for the development of future vaccines against VL.
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    Experimental and clinical treatment of Chagas disease : a review.
    (2017) Sales Júnior, Policarpo Ademar; Molina, Israel; Murta, Silvane Maria Fonseca; Sánchez Montalvá, Adrián; Salvador, Fernando; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Carneiro, Cláudia Martins
    Chagas disease (CD) is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi that infects a broad range of triatomines and mammalian species, including man. It afflicts 8 million people in Latin America, and its incidence is increasing in nonendemic countries owing to rising international immigration and nonvectorial transmission routes such as blood donation. Since the 1960s, the only drugs available for the clinical treatment of this infection have been benznidazole (BZ) and nifurtimox (NFX). Treatment with these trypanocidal drugs is recommended in both the acute and chronic phases of CD. These drugs have low cure rates mainly during the chronic phase, in addition both drugs present side effects that may result in the interruption of the treatment. Thus, more efficient and better-tolerated new drugs or pharmaceutical formulations containing BZ or NFX are urgently needed. Here, we review the drugs currently used for CD chemotherapy, ongoing clinical assays, and most-promising new experimental drugs. In addition, the mechanism of action of the commercially available drugs, NFX and BZ, the biodistribution of the latter, and the potential for novel formulations of BZ based on nanotechnology are discussed. Taken together, the literature emphasizes the urgent need for new therapies for acute and chronic CD.
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    Multicomponent LBSap vaccine displays immunological and parasitological profiles similar to those of Leish-Tec® and Leishmune® vaccines against visceral leishmaniasis.
    (2016) Mendonça, Ludmila Zanandreis de; Resende, Lucilene Aparecida; Lanna, Mariana Ferreira; Soares, Rodrigo Dian de Oliveira Aguiar; Roatt, Bruno Mendes; Castro, Renata Alves de Oliveira e; Batista, Maurício Azevedo; Lemos, Denise da Silveira; Estanislau, Juliana de Assis Silva Gomes; Fujiwara, Ricardo Toshio; Rezende, Simone Aparecida; Martins Filho, Olindo Assis; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Dutra, Walderez Ornelas; Reis, Alexandre Barbosa; Giunchetti, Rodolfo Cordeiro
    Background: In past years, many researchers have sought canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) prevention through the characterization of Leishmania antigens as vaccine candidates. Despite these efforts, there is still no efficient vaccine for CVL control. Methods: In the present study, we performed a pre-clinical vaccine trial using BALB/c mice to compare the effects of the multicomponent LBSap vaccine with those of Leish-Tec® and Leishmune®. Blood was collected to determine the frequency of peripheral blood cells and to evaluate hematologic and immunophenotypic parameters. Liver and spleen samples were collected for parasitological quantification, and spleen samples were used to access the cytokine profile. Results: When measuring total IgG and IgG1 anti-Leishmania levels after the third vaccination and L. infantum challenge, it was evident that all vaccines were able to induce humoral immune response. Regarding the innate immune response, increased levels of NK CD3-CD49+ cells were the hallmark of all vaccinated groups, whereas only the Leish-Tec® group displayed a high frequency of CD14+ monocytes after L. infantum challenge. Moreover, CD3+CD4+ T cells were the main circulating lymphocytes induced after L. infantum challenge with all evaluated vaccines. Importantly, after L. infantum challenge, splenocytes from the Leishmune® vaccine produced high levels of IL-2, whereas a prominent type 1 immune response was the hallmark of the LBSap vaccine, which presented high levels of IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ. The efficacy analysis using real-time polymerase chain reaction demonstrated a reduction in the parasitism in the spleen (Leishmune®: 64 %; LBSap: 42 %; and Leish-Tec®: 36 %) and liver (Leishmune®: 71 %; LBSap: 62 %; and Leish-Tec®: 48 %). Conclusions: The dataset led to the conclusion that the LBSap vaccination was able to induce immune and efficacy profiles comparable with those of commercial vaccines, thus demonstrating its potential as a promising vaccine candidate for visceral leishmaniasis control.
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    Pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution of benznidazole after oral administration in mice.
    (2017) Melo, Luísa Helena Perin de; Silva, Rodrigo Moreira da; Fonseca, Kátia da Silva; Cardoso, Jamille Mirelle de Oliveira; Mathias, Fernando Augusto Siqueira; Reis, Levi Eduardo Soares; Molina, Israel; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Vieira, Paula Melo de Abreu; Carneiro, Cláudia Martins
    Specific chemotherapy using benznidazole (BNZ) for Chagas disease during the chronic stage is controversial due to its limited efficacy and toxic effects. Although BNZ has been used to treat Chagas disease since the 1970s, few studies about the biodistribution of this drug exist. In this study, BNZ tissue biodistribution in a murine model and its pharmacokinetic profile in plasma were monitored. A bioanalytical high-performance liquid chromatography method with a UV detector (HPLC-UV) was developed and validated according to the European Medicines Agency for quantification of BNZ in organs and plasma samples prepared by liquidliquid extraction using ethyl acetate. The developed method was linear in the BNZ concentration, which ranged from 0.1 to 100.0 g/ml for plasma, spleen, brain, colon, heart, lung, and kidney and from 0.2 to 100.0 g/ml for liver. Validation assays demonstrated good stability for BNZ under all conditions evaluated. Pharmacokinetic parameters confirmed rapid, but low, absorption of BNZ after oral administration. Biodistribution assays demonstrated different maximum concentrations in organs and similar times to maximum concentration and mean residence times, with means of 40 min and 2.5 h, respectively. Therefore, the biodistribution of BNZ is extensive, reaching organs such as the heart and colon, which are the most relevant organs affected by Trypanosoma cruzi infection, and also the spleen, brain, liver, lungs, and kidneys. Simultaneous analyses of tissues and plasma indicated high BNZ metabolism in the liver. Our results suggest that low bioavailability, instead of inadequate biodistribution, coul
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    Immunoinformatics features linked to leishmania vaccine development : data integration of experimental and in silico studies.
    (2017) Brito, Rory Cristiane Fortes de; Guimarães, Frederico Gonçalves; Velloso, João Paulo Linhares; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Ruiz, Jeronimo Conceição; Reis, Alexandre Barbosa; Resende, Daniela de Melo
    Leishmaniasis is a wide-spectrum disease caused by parasites from Leishmania genus. There is no human vaccine available and it is considered by many studies as apotential effective tool for disease control. To discover novel antigens, computational programs have been used in reverse vaccinology strategies. In this work, we developed a validation antigen approach that integrates prediction of B and T cell epitopes, analysis of Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) networks and metabolic pathways. We selected twenty candidate proteins from Leishmania tested in murine model, with experimental outcome published in the literature. The predictions for CD4+ and CD8+ T cell epitopes were correlated with protection in experimental outcomes. We also mapped immunogenic proteins on PPI networks in order to find Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways associated with them. Our results suggest that non-protective antigens have lowest frequency of predicted T CD4+ and T CD8+ epitopes, compared with protective ones. T CD4+ and T CD8+ cells are more related to leishmaniasis protection in experimental outcomes than B cell predicted epitopes. Considering KEGG analysis, the proteins considered protective are connected to nodes with few pathways, including those associated with ribosome biosynthesis and purine metabolism.
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    A vaccine therapy for canine visceral leishmaniasis promoted significant improvement of clinical and immune status with reduction in parasite burden.
    (2017) Roatt, Bruno Mendes; Soares, Rodrigo Dian de Oliveira Aguiar; Reis, Levi Eduardo Soares; Cardoso, Jamille Mirelle de Oliveira; Mathias, Fernando Augusto Siqueira; Brito, Rory Cristiane Fortes de; Silva, Sydnei Magno da; Gontijo, Nelder de Figueiredo; Ferreira, Sidney de Almeida; Valenzuela, Jesus G.; Oliveira, Rodrigo Corrêa de; Giunchetti, Rodolfo Cordeiro; Reis, Alexandre Barbosa
    Herein, we evaluated the treatment strategy employing a therapeutic heterologous vaccine composed of antigens of Leishmania braziliensis associated with MPL adjuvant (LBMPL vaccine) for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in symptomatic dogs naturally infected by Leishmania infantum. Sixteen dogs received immunotherapy with MPL adjuvant (n = 6) or with a vaccine composed of antigens of L. braziliensis associated with MPL (LBMPL vaccine therapy, n = 10). Dogs were submitted to an immunotherapeutic scheme consisting of 3 series composed of 10 subcutaneous doses with 10-day interval between each series. The animals were evaluated before (T0) and 90 days after treatment (T90) for their biochemical/hematological, immunological, clinical, and parasitological variables. Our major results showed that the vaccine therapy with LBMPL was able to restore and normalize main biochemical (urea, AST, ALP, and bilirubin) and hematological (erythrocytes, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelets) parameters. In addition, in an ex vivo analysis using flow cytometry, dogs treated with LBMPL vaccine showed increased CD3+ T lymphocytes and their subpopulations (TCD4+ and TCD8+), reduction of CD21+ B lymphocytes, increased NK cells (CD5−CD16+) and CD14+ monocytes. Under in vitro conditions, the animals developed a strong antigen- specific lymphoproliferation mainly by TCD4+ and TCD8+ cells; increasing in both TCD4+IFN-γ+ and TCD8+IFN-γ+ as well as reduction of TCD4+IL-4+ and TCD8+IL-4+ lymphocytes with an increased production of TNF-α and reduced levels of IL-10. Concerning the clinical signs of canine visceral leishmaniasis, the animals showed an important reduction in the number and intensity of the disease signs; increase body weight as well as reduction of splenomegaly. In addition, the LBMPL immunotherapy also promoted a reduction in parasite burden assessed by real-time PCR. In the bone marrow, we observed seven times less parasites in LBMPL animals compared with MPL group. The skin tissue showed a reduction in parasite burden in LBMPL dogs 127.5 times higher than MPL. As expected, with skin parasite reduction promoted by immunotherapy, we observed a blocking transmission to sand flies in LBMPL dogs with only three positive dogs after xenodiagnosis. The results obtained in this study highlighted the strong potential for the use of this heterologous vaccine therapy as an important strategy for VL treatment.