Publications by authors named "Karina M Melo"

Autosomal recessive interleukin (IL)-12p40 deficiency is a genetic etiology of Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial disease (MSMD). It has been described in ∼50 patients, usually with onset at childhood with Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and infections. A male patient born to consanguineous parents was diagnosed with presumed lymph node MSMD at the age of 13 years after ocular symptoms.

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Introduction: Immunoglobulin represents the main therapy for patients with inborn errors of immunity (IEI) and it is a safe procedure, but adverse events (AEs) can occur with variable frequencies.

Objective: To evaluate the frequency of immediate AEs to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) regular therapy in a pediatric cohort with IEI after a pre-IVIG infusion protocol.

Methods: This was a longitudinal study from 2011 to 2019 at a tertiary pediatric hospital in Brazil.

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Objectives: To compare the frequency of hospitalization in children with Inborn Errors of Immunity with antibody deficiency previous to intravenous immunoglobulin (pre- IVIG) with a one-year period after initial IVIG (post-IVIG).

Methods: Medical reports of 45 patients during an eight-year period were reviewed from 2018 to 2019. Wilcoxon-test was used for related samples.

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Doxorubicin (DOX) is an anthracycline antibiotic used in the fight against many types of cancer. Although it is quite effective for this purpose, its clinical use is limited by its severe side effects, highlighting the relevance of efforts to identify substances that act to minimize these effects. In this work, we sought to verify the ability of andiroba oil (AO) and a nanoemulsion of andiroba oil (AN) to lessen the side effects of DOX.

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Malachite green (MG) is a triphenylmethane dye that is widely used in aquaculture as a fungicide, bactericide, ectoparasiticide, and antiprotozoal. There is great debate regarding the potential for this compound to trigger adverse effects. Here, we review the previous findings and then evaluate the lethal and sublethal effects of MG in the species Hemichromis bimaculatus (jewelfish).

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Andiroba (Carapa guianensis Aubl) is an Amazonian plant whose oil has been widely used in traditional medicine for various purposes, including anti-inflammation. Research reports indicate that the oil can confer antitumor activity due to the presence of fatty acids, which can directly influence cell death mechanisms. Thus, andiroba oil (AO) has gained interest for its potential to be used in antineoplastic therapies.

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Libidibia ferrea (juca) is a plant belonging to the Fabaceae (Leguminosae) family, whose antioxidant activity has been widely described in the literature. We evaluated this parameter of Aqueous ethanol extract (AE), ethyl acetate (ACO), chloroform (CLO) and hexane (HEX) extracts of L. ferrea.

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Previous studies have reported the anti-obesity effects of α, β-Amyrin in high fat-fed mice. This study aimed to evaluate whether α, β-Amyrin has an anti-adipogenic effect in 3T3-L1 murine adipocytes and to explore the possible underlying mechanisms. 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes were differentiated in a medium containing insulin, dexamethasone, and 1-methyl-3-isobutylxanthine.

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This study investigated phenotypic and functional characteristics of lymphocytes in children with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) and unclassified hypogammaglobulinemia (UH), as well as B-cell subsets in non-consanguineous parents. Blood samples of 30 children, CVID (n = 9), UH (n = 9), healthy donors HD (n = 12), and 19 adults (parents and controls) were labeled by a combination of surface markers to identify CD4, CD8 T-cell and B-cell subpopulations. T-cell cytokine production in children was analyzed in vitro after stimulation with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and tetanus toxoid.

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This study investigated whether circulating α4β7 expressing T cells could serve as a potential marker for gastrointestinal (GI) disease activity in patients with CVID. The analysis of α4β7 T cells in the peripheral blood of 36 patients and 22 healthy donors (HD) revealed increased percentages of α4β7 conventional memory CD4 T cells and Tregs, but not among CD8 T-cell populations in patients with CVID compared to HD. No differences between patients with and without chronic or acute GI symptoms were observed.

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Obesity remains a global problem. In search of phytochemicals that have antiobesity potential, this study evaluated -amyrin, a triterpenoid mixture from , on high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice. Groups of mice (n = 8) were fed a normal diet or a high-fat diet, and were orally treated or not treated with either -amyrin (10 or 20 mg/kg) or sibutramine (10 mg/kg) for 15 weeks.

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Purpose: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has not been examined in patients with predominant antibody deficiency both pre- and post-immunoglobulin G (IgG) treatment initiation. HRQOL and health resource utilization (HRU) were assessed in newly diagnosed patients with primary immunodeficiency disease (PIDD) pre- and 12 months post-IgG treatment initiation.

Methods: Adults (age ≥18 years) completed the 36-item Short Form Health Survey, version 2; pediatric patients (PP)/caregivers completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL).

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Rotenone, a natural compound derived from plants of the genera Derris and Lonchocarpus, is used worldwide as a pesticide and piscicide. This study aims to assess short-term toxicity of rotenone to early-life stages of the fish Danio rerio and Poecilia reticulata using a wide and integrative range of biomarkers (developmental, biochemical, behavioral, and histopathological). Moreover, the species sensitivity distribution (SSD) approach was used to compare rotenone acute toxicity to fish species.

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Article Synopsis
  • Herbal compounds with triterpenes, like resin from Protium heptaphyllum (RPH), are known to support glucose and lipid metabolism and may help with metabolic disorders.
  • In a study with mice on a high-fat diet, those treated with RPH experienced significant reductions in body weight, fat accumulation, and harmful blood markers while showing increased ghrelin and decreased insulin levels.
  • RPH also reduced inflammation-related proteins and inhibited fat accumulation in lab studies, suggesting its antiobesity effects are linked to hormonal regulation and reduced inflammation.
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Aneuploidies are numerical genetic alterations that lead to changes in the normal number of chromosomes due to abnormal segregation during cell division. This type of alteration can occur spontaneously or as a result of exposure to mutagenic agents. The presence of these agents in the environment has increased concern about potential damage to human health.

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Introduction. The presence of eczema and gastrointestinal manifestations are often observed in cow's milk allergy (CMA) and also in some primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID). Objective.

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The frequency of spontaneous micronucleus (MN) formation in fish species needs to be determined to evaluate their usefulness for genotoxic biomonitoring. The definition of a good bioindicator takes into account the current knowledge of its metabolic traits as well as other factors including its feeding behavior and relationship to the environment. In this study, we compared the basal frequencies of micronucleated erythrocytes and nuclear abnormalities (NA) among different species of the fish Order Gymnotiformes (Rhamphichthys marmoratus, Steatogenys elegans, Sternopygus macrurus, Parapteronotus hasemani, Gymnotus mamiraua, Gymnotus arapaima, Brachyhypopomus beebei, Brachyhypopomus n.

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Common variable immunodeficiency disorder (CVID) is the commonest cause of primary antibody failure in adults and children, and characterized clinically by recurrent bacterial infections and autoimmune manifestations. Several innate immune defects have been described in CVID, but no study has yet investigated the frequency, phenotype or function of the key regulatory cell population, natural killer T (NKT) cells. We measured the frequencies and subsets of NKT cells in patients with CVID and compared these to healthy controls.

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Introduction: Common variable immunodeficiency disorder (CVID) is a heterogeneous syndrome, characterized by deficient antibody production and recurrent bacterial infections in addition abnormalities in T cells. CD4(+)CD25(high) regulatory T cells (Treg) are essential modulators of immune responses, including down-modulation of immune response to pathogens, allergens, cancer cells and self-antigens.

Objective: In this study we set out to investigate the frequency of Treg cells in CVID patients and correlate with their immune activation status.

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