Sporotrichosis: In silico design of new molecular markers for the Sporothrix genus.

Background: Sporotrichosis, a cosmopolitan mycosis caused by dimorphic fungi of the Sporothrix complex, affects humans and animals. This study aimed to develop new molecular markers for Sporothrix genome detection in biological samples using PCR.

Methods: A specific region of DNA sequences from the Sporothrix genus, publicly available in GenBank, was chosen for primer design.

The impact of COVID-19 on antimicrobial prescription and drug resistance in fungi and bacteria.

Secondary infections are one of the complications in COVID-19 patients. We aimed to analyze the antimicrobial prescriptions and their influence on drug resistance in fungi and bacteria isolated from severely ill COVID-19 patients. Seventy-nine severely ill COVID-19 hospitalized patients with secondary bacterial or fungal infections were included.

Correlations among neck circumference and anthropometric indicators to estimate body adiposity in people living with HIV.

Introduction: Neck circumference (NC) and anthropometric data of people living with HIV (PLWH) are correlated.

Methods: Socioeconomic, NC, body mass index (BMI), tricipital skinfold thickness (TSF), mid-arm circumference (MAC), mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC), waist-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference (HC) data of 72 PLWH were correlated.

Results: Higher adiposity was observed in NC (40.

New molecular marker for phylogenetic reconstruction of black yeast-like fungi (Chaetothyriales) with hypothetical EIF2AK2 kinase gene.

In eukaryotes, phosphorylation of the α-subunit of eIF2 is a mechanism to adjust cellular gene expression profiles in response to specific signals. The eIF2α kinases are a group of serine-threonine kinases that perform important functions in response to infection, proteotoxicity, and nutrient scavenging. The conserved nature of eIF2α kinases among fungi makes them potential evolutionary markers, which may contribute to deeper understanding of taxonomy and evolution.

Study and Development of an Anthroposophical Formula Based on and for Onychomycosis´s Treatment.

Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of the nail plate or nail bed that leads to the gradual destruction of the nail. The main difficulties in the treatment of onychomycosis refer to the duration of treatments and their side effects. Thus, it becomes relevant to look for new therapeutic alternatives in the treatment of such common diseases that are efficient without causing the undesirable side effects on the patient's body.

A new Leishmania hypothetical protein can be used for accurate serodiagnosis of canine and human visceral leishmaniasis and as a potential prognostic marker for human disease.

Distinct antigens have been evaluated with diagnostic purpose for canine and human visceral leishmaniasis (VL), and variable sensitivity and specificity values have been obtained in the assays. In the present study, a Leishmania infantum hypothetical protein called LiHyG, which was identified in an immunoproteomics study in Leishmania infantum amastigote extracts by antibodies in VL dogs sera; was cloned, expressed, purified and evaluated as a recombinant protein (rLiHyG) for the diagnosis of canine and human disease. The recombinant amastigote-specific A2 protein (rA2) and a soluble L.

An immunoproteomics approach to identify proteins to be applied for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis and human immunodeficiency virus co-infection.

The co-infection between visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has increased in several countries in the world. The current serological tests are not suitable since they present low sensitivity to detect the most of VL/HIV cases, and a more precise diagnosis should be performed. In this context, in the present study, an immunoproteomics approach was performed using Leishmania infantum antigenic extracts and VL, HIV and VL/HIV patients sera, besides healthy subjects samples; aiming to identify antigenic markers for these clinical conditions.

Novel PCR primers for improved detection of Mycobacterium leprae and diagnosis of leprosy.

Aims: Diagnosis of leprosy, a chronic infection caused by Mycobacterium leprae, predominantly depends on clinical manifestations and histopathological analysis, hampering rapid and accurate diagnostics. Our aim was to increase accuracy of leprosy diagnosis by improving M. leprae's DNA detection based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique using new specific primers for the RLEP repetitive sequence.

A Leishmania infantum hypothetical protein evaluated as a recombinant protein and specific B-cell epitope for the serodiagnosis and prognosis of visceral leishmaniasis.

The serodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) presents problems related to the sensitivity and/or specificity of the tests. In this context, more refined antigens should be identified and applied for the improvement of disease diagnosis. In the present study, DNA with an encoding of a Leishmania infantum hypothetical protein, LiHyC, was cloned, and the recombinant protein was expressed, purified, and evaluated for the serodiagnosis of canine and human VL.

Recombinant Leishmania eukaryotic elongation factor-1 beta protein: A potential diagnostic antigen to detect tegumentary and visceral leishmaniasis in dogs and humans.

The laboratorial diagnosis of leishmaniasis is based on parasitological methods, which are invasive, present high cost, require laboratorial infrastructure and/or trained professionals; as well as by immunological methods, which usually present variable sensitivity and/or specificity, such as when they are applied to identify asymptomatic cases and/or mammalian hosts presenting low levels of antileishmanial antibodies. As consequence, new studies aiming to identify more refined antigens to diagnose visceral (VL) and tegumentary (TL) leishmaniasis are urgently necessary. In the present work, the Leishmania eukaryotic elongation factor-1 beta (EF1b) protein, which was identified in L.

A biomarker for tegumentary and visceral leishmaniasis based on a recombinant Leishmania hypothetical protein.

The measures for leishmaniasis control include the precise diagnosis of disease. However, although several recombinant antigens have been tested with this biotechnological purpose, no effective product exists, which could detects patients with the active disease, as well as differentiates them from cured and treated patients. In this study, a conserved Leishmania hypothetical protein, which was identified in Leishmania infantum parasites, but evaluated to presents high homology in the amino acid sequences between distinct parasite species, was evaluated for the diagnosis of tegumentary and visceral leishmaniasis.

Diagnostic evaluation of the amastin protein from Leishmania infantum in canine and human visceral leishmaniasis and immunogenicity in human cells derived from patients and healthy controls.

The diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) presents problems due to the toxicity and/or high cost of drugs. In addition, no vaccine exists to protect against human disease. In this study, the antigenicity and immunogenicity of amastin protein were evaluated in L.

Screening diagnostic candidates from proteins for human visceral leishmaniasis using an immunoproteomics approach.

There is no suitable vaccine against human visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and available drugs are toxic and/or present high cost. In this context, diagnostic tools should be improved for clinical management and epidemiological evaluation of disease. However, the variable sensitivity and/or specificity of the used antigens are limitations, showing the necessity to identify new molecules to be tested in a more sensitive and specific serology.

Canine visceral leishmaniasis: Detection of Leishmania spp. genome in peripheral blood of seropositive dogs by real-time polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR).

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a zoonosis caused by the protozoa of the genus Leishmania. Among the species, L. infantum and/or L.

Potential application of small myristoylated protein-3 evaluated as recombinant antigen and a synthetic peptide containing its linear B-cell epitope for the serodiagnosis of canine visceral and human tegumentary leishmaniasis.

Serological tests are important tools for the diagnosis of Leishmania infection. However, they are not effective markers to diagnose asymptomatic cases of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and patients developing tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL), since antileishmanial antibodies can be encountered in low levels resulting in false-negative results in the serological trials. In this context, antigens able to be recognized by antibodies in sera from both VL and TL patients will be desirable to be employed in a more sensitivity and specific diagnosis of disease.

A case of disseminated sporotrichosis caused by .

This paper presents a case of disseminated sporotrichosis in a 13-year-old female, originating from a rural area in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The patient was hospitalized in Santa Casa hospital of Belo Horizonte, with hyporexia, prostration, fever and disseminated ulcerative lesions, besides anemia, leucopenia and sepsis of probable cutaneous focus. The patient was admitted without proven immunosuppression.

A conserved Leishmania hypothetical protein evaluated for the serodiagnosis of canine and human visceral and tegumentary leishmaniasis, as well as a serological marker for the posttreatment patient follow-up.

In the present study, a conserved Leishmania hypothetical protein, LiHyE, was evaluated for the serodiagnosis of leishmaniasis. Results showed that it presented high sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) to serologically identify visceral leishmaniasis (VL) dogs when 40 positive sera and 95 cross-reactive samples were used. rLiHyE also showed the best results of sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV to identify tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL) and VL patients when 45 leishmaniasis patients' sera and 90 cross-reactive samples were used.

Paracoccidioidomycosis: Detection of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis´ genome in biological samples by quantitative chain reaction polymerase (qPCR).

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a chronic mycosis caused by the saprobic and dimorphic species Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and P. lutzii. This disease is prevalent in Latin American countries.

Biological Activities of Red Propolis: A Review.

Background: The red propolis (RdProp) is a resin produced by Apis mellifera bees, which collect the reddish exudate on the surface of its botanic source, the species Dalbergia ecastophyllum, popularly known in Brazil as "rabo de bugio". Considered as the 13th type of Brazilian propolis, this resin has been gaining prominence due to its natural composition, rich in bioactive substances not found in other types of propolis.

Objective: This review aims to address the most important characteristics of RdProp, its botanical origin, the main constituents, its biological properties and the patents related to this natural product.

Serological diagnosis and prognostic of tegumentary and visceral leishmaniasis using a conserved Leishmania hypothetical protein.

New candidates for serological markers against leishmaniasis are required to be identified, since the presence of high titers of anti-Leishmania antibodies remain detected in sera of treated and cured patients, when current antigens have being employed. In this study, the diagnostic performance of a conserved Leishmania hypothetical protein was evaluated against a human and canine serological panel. The serological follow-up of the patients was also evaluated, using this recombinant antigen (rLiHyS) in ELISA assays.

Recombinant prohibitin protein of Leishmania infantum acts as a vaccine candidate and diagnostic marker against visceral leishmaniasis.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) represents a serious public health problem, as Leishmania infantum is one of main disease causative agents in the Americas. In a previous immunoproteomic study, the prohibitin (PHB) protein was identified in L. infantum promastigote and amastigote extracts by antibodies in asymptomatic and symptomatic VL dog sera.