Contribution of HLA-G and FOXP3 genes and proteins in the severity of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia during HPV infection.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) persistence leads to the chronification of cervical inflammation, where HLA-G and Foxp3; immunomodulatory molecules, may contribute to the aggravation of the lesion and cancerization. Here, we evaluated the synergic effect of these two molecules in the worsening of the lesion in presence of HPV infection. Hundred and eighty (180) women cervical cells and biopsies were collected for (i) HLAG Sanger sequencing and gene expression, and (ii) HLA-G and Foxp3 molecule expressions by immunohistochemistry.

Near-infrared spectroscopy of blood plasma with chemometrics towards HIV discrimination during pregnancy.

Prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs have been one of the hallmarks of success in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In Brazil, access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) during pregnancy has increased, leading to a reduction in new infections among children. Currently, lifelong ART is available to all pregnant, however yet challenges remain in eliminating mother-to-child transmission.

Microablative fractional radiofrequency for the genitourinary syndrome of menopause: protocol of randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Menopause is a physiological and progressive phenomenon secondary to decreased ovarian follicular reserve. These changes have consequences: vaginal dryness, dyspareunia, discomfort, burning and irritation, vulvovaginal pruritus, dysuria and increased frequency of genitourinary infections. The therapy more suitable for vaginal symptoms in postmenopause yet is the use of a topical hormone.

Physical methods for the treatment of genitourinary syndrome of menopause: A systematic review.

Background: Genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) negatively affects sexual function and quality of life. Techniques like laser and radiofrequency are being used to manage GSM, particularly in women with contraindications for hormone therapy.

Objectives: To verify whether the physical methods of laser and radiofrequency can be recommended as safe and effective options for the treatment of GSM/urinary urgency or incontinence in pre- and postmenopausal women.

ATR-FTIR spectroscopy in blood plasma combined with multivariate analysis to detect HIV infection in pregnant women.

The primary concern for HIV-infected pregnant women is the vertical transmission that can occur during pregnancy, in the intrauterine period, during labour or even breastfeeding. The risk of vertical transmission can be reduced by early diagnosis. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new methods to detect this virus in a quick and low-cost fashion, as colorimetric assays for HIV detection tend to be laborious and costly.

Spectrochemical differentiation in gestational diabetes mellitus based on attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and multivariate analysis.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a hyperglycaemic imbalance first recognized during pregnancy, and affects up to 22% of pregnancies worldwide, bringing negative maternal-fetal consequences in the short- and long-term. In order to better characterize GDM in pregnant women, 100 blood plasma samples (50 GDM and 50 healthy pregnant control group) were submitted Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, using chemometric approaches, including feature selection algorithms associated with discriminant analysis, such as Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA) and Support Vector Machines (SVM), analyzed in the biofingerprint region between 1800 and 900 cm followed by Savitzky-Golay smoothing, baseline correction and normalization to Amide-I band (~ 1650 cm). An initial exploratory analysis of the data by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed a separation tendency between the two groups, which were then classified by supervised algorithms.

Impact of microablative fractional radiofrequency on the vaginal health, microbiota, and cellularity of postmenopausal women.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of microablative fractional radiofrequency (MAFRF) in the non-hormonal treatment of genitourinary syndrome of menopause.

Methods: We examined the cases of 55 postmenopausal women before and after treatment with regard to their vaginal health index (VHI), vaginal microbiota, vaginal pH, and cell maturation. Three applications of MAFRF were performed in the vagina/vaginal introitus.

Scorpion Venom Induces Apoptosis in Cervical Cancer Cell Lines.

Cervical cancer (CC) is classified as the fourth most common type of cancer in women worldwide and remains a serious public health problem in many underdeveloped countries. Human papillomavirus (HPV), mainly types 16 and 18, has been established as a precursory etiologic agent for this type of cancer. Several therapeutic attempts have been studied and applied, aiming at its control.

Immunohistochemical evaluation of HLA-G and FoxP3+ T regulatory cells in oral cavity and lower lip squamous cell carcinomas.

Human Leukocyte Antigen G (HLA-G) is a molecule involved in the tumor immunosuppression and also in the generation of regulatory T (Treg) cells, thus leading to evasion to the immune system host, and consequently, contributing to tumor progression in several cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immunoexpression of HLA-G by tumor cells and FoxP3+ Treg cells in 25 oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and 25 lower lip SCCs and analyze their relationship with clinical parameters. HLA-G expression was higher in oral tongue SCCs than in lower lip SCCs.

HLA-G is expressed in intestinal samples of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease patients and HLA-G5 expression is differentially correlated with TNF and IL-10 cytokine expression.

HLA-G is an immunomodulatory molecule that can be produced by epithelial cells. Considering that TNF and IL-10 participate in bowel inflammatory disorders and that both cytokines modulate HLA-G, we evaluated HLA-G, TNF and IL-10 mRNA expression by qPCR and HLA-G protein levels by immunohistochemistry in two intestinal samples exhibiting different degree of inflammation within a patient suffering from Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC). Tissue HLA-G5 (P < 0.

High IL-17 expression is associated with an unfavorable prognosis in thyroid cancer.

Previous studies have indicated that cancer may be promoted and/or exacerbated by inflammation and infection. The cytokines produced by activated innate immune cells that stimulate tumor growth and progression are considered as important components in this process. The interleukin (IL)-23/T helper (Th)17 axis, which exerts marked pro-inflammatory effects, has emerged as an important mediator in inflammation-associated cancer.

and Snake Venoms Promote Cell Cycle Arrest and Induce Apoptosis via the Mitochondrial Depolarization of Cervical Cancer Cells.

(BJ) and (BE) are viper snakes found in South-Southeast and Northeast regions of Brazil, respectively. Snake venoms are bioactive neurotoxic substances synthesized and stored by venom glands, with different physiological and pharmacological effects, recently suggesting a possible preference for targets in cancer cells; however, mechanisms of snakes have been little studied. Here, we investigated the mechanism responsible for snake crude venoms toxicity in cultured cervical cancer cells SiHa and HeLa.

DNA damage increase in peripheral neutrophils from patients with rheumatoid arthritis is associated with the disease activity and the presence of shared epitope.

Objectives: Neutrophils play a major role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis. We aimed to evaluate if neutrophil DNA damage in RA patients is associated with the disease activity, autoantibodies status, carriage of the RA shared epitope (SE) and treatment.

Methods: DNA damage was assessed by alkaline comet assay in peripheral blood (77 patients and 55 healthy controls) and in 10 RA synovial fluid neutrophils.

Characterization of Immunoglobulin A/G Responses During 3 Doses of the Human Papillomavirus-16/18 ASO4-Adjuvanted Vaccine.

Background: Individuals receiving the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine develop high levels of circulating neutralizing antibodies. However, data about antibody responses in the cervix are limited.

Methods: This study was designed to describe the course of IgA/IgG responses in cervical secretions and in serum after intramuscular administration of the HPV16/18 AS04-adjuvant vaccine.

Greater expression of the human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) and interleukin-17 (IL-17) in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia: analytical cross-sectional study.

Context And Objective: Impaired local cell immunity seems to contribute towards the pathogenesis and progression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), but the underlying molecular mechanisms promoting its progression remain unclear. Identification of new molecular markers for prognosis and diagnosis of early-stage CIN may aid in decreasing the numbers of CIN cases. Several novel immunoregulatory molecules have been discovered over the past few years, including the human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G), which through interaction with its receptors exerts important tolerogenic functions.

Detection of immunoglobulin IgA and IgG against human papilloma virus.

The interest in human papilloma virus (HPV) seropositivity has increased considerably since HPV vaccines have become available worldwide. The aim of this study was to assess the performance of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in analyzing serum samples provided from women with and without genital DNA-HPV infection confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), for detection of specific antibodies of the isotypes IgG and IgA recognizing HPV-16 and -18, as well as virus-like particles (VLPs). From August to December 2013, 50 sexually active female patients between 18 and 35 years of age from the outpatient clinic at the university hospital were enrolled.

Patients with systemic sclerosis present increased DNA damage differentially associated with DNA repair gene polymorphisms.

Objective: Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) exhibit increased toxicity when exposed to genotoxic agents. In our study, we evaluated DNA damage and polymorphic sites in 2 DNA repair genes (XRCC1 Arg399Gln and XRCC4 Ile401Thr) in patients with SSc.

Methods: A total of 177 patients were studied for DNA repair gene polymorphisms.

HLA-G is differentially expressed in thyroid tissues.

Background: HLA-G is a nonclassical major histocompatibility complex molecule that has well-recognized immunomodulatory properties. The expression of HLA-G in tumor cells has been considered to be detrimental, permitting tumor spreading and decreased survival. We evaluated the expression of HLA-G in histologically normal thyroid tissue, goiter, and benign and malignant thyroid tumors, and studied the relationship between HLA-G expression and patient clinical variables.

Expression of the nonclassical HLA-G and HLA-E molecules in laryngeal lesions as biomarkers of tumor invasiveness.

Introduction: HLA-G and HLA-E are two nonclassical class I molecules, which have been well recognized as modulators of innate and adaptive immune responses, and the expression of these molecules in virus infected cells has been associated with subversion of the immune response.

Objective: In this study we performed a cross-sectional study, systematically comparing the expression of HLA-G and HLA-E in benign, pre-malignant and malignant laryngeal lesions, correlating with demographic and clinical variables and with the presence of high-risk and low-risk HPV types.

Materials And Methods: Laryngeal lesions were collected from 109 patients and stratified into 27 laryngeal papillomas, 17 dysplasias, 10 in situ laryngeal carcinomas, 27 laryngeal carcinomas without metastases, 28 laryngeal carcinomas with metastasis along with their respective draining cervical lymph nodes, and 10 normal larynx specimens.

Low expression of human histocompatibility soluble leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G5) in invasive cervical cancer with and without metastasis, associated with papilloma virus (HPV).

Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) is a non-classical major histocompatibility complex class Ib molecule that acts as a specific immunosuppressor. Some studies have demonstrated that human papillomavirus (HPV) seems to be involved in lower or absent HLA-G expression, particularly in cervical cancer. In this study, we performed a cross-sectional study, systematically comparing the qualitative expression of the HLA-G5 isoform in invasive cervical carcinoma (ICC), stratifying patients according to the presence [ICC with metastasis (ICC(W))] and absence [ICC without metastasis (ICC(WT))] of metastasis, correlating these findings with interference of HPV and demographic and clinical variables.

HLA-G expression in the skin of patients with systemic sclerosis.

Objective: To determine HLA-G expression in skin biopsies from patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), and its association with epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory variables and survival.

Methods: Paraffin-embedded skin biopsies obtained from 21 SSc patients (14 limited SSc, 7 diffuse SSc) and from 28 healthy controls were studied. HLA-G expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry.