Publications by authors named "Fernanda de Moraes Maia"
Article Synopsis
- The research focuses on leptolysin, a metalloproteinase secreted by the bacteria Leptospira, which may aid in the bacteria's ability to cause disease by degrading host immune system components.
- A portion of patients with mild leptospirosis showed antibodies against leptolysin, indicating its expression during infection; experiments with knockout strains demonstrated that leptolysin helps the bacteria resist serum from the host.
- Although a mutant strain lacking leptolysin was still virulent in hamsters, it resulted in lower bacterial levels in the kidneys, suggesting the need for further investigation into the role of metalloproteinases in Leptospira pathogenicity.
Sphingomyelin is a major constituent of eukaryotic cell membranes, and if degraded by bacteria sphingomyelinases may contribute to the pathogenesis of infection. Among spp., there are five sphingomyelinases exclusively expressed by pathogenic leptospires, in which Sph2 is expressed during natural infections, cytotoxic, and implicated in the leptospirosis hemorrhagic complications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIdentification of Immunogenic Linear B-Cell Epitopes in Outer Membrane Proteins Using Immunoinformatics Approaches Reveals Potential Targets of Persistent Infections.
Pathogens
September 2021
is a global, highly infectious intracellular bacterium, able to infect a wide range of hosts and to persist for months in the environment. It is the etiological agent of Q fever-a zoonosis of global priority. Currently, there are no national surveillance data on 's seroprevalence for any South American country, reinforcing the necessity of developing novel and inexpensive serological tools to monitor the prevalence of infections among humans and animals-especially cattle, goats, and sheep.
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