Lisinopril increases lung ACE2 levels and SARS-CoV-2 viral load and decreases inflammation but not disease severity in experimental COVID-19.

COVID-19 causes more severe and frequently fatal disease in patients with pre-existing comorbidities such as hypertension and heart disease. SARS-CoV-2 virus enters host cells through the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is fundamental in maintaining arterial pressure through the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Hypertensive patients commonly use medications such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi), which can modulate the expression of ACE2 and, therefore, potentially impact the susceptibility and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Virulence Profiles of Wild-Type, P.1 and Delta SARS-CoV-2 Variants in K18-hACE2 Transgenic Mice.

Since December 2019, the world has been experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and we now face the emergence of several variants. We aimed to assess the differences between the wild-type (Wt) (Wuhan) strain and the P.1 (Gamma) and Delta variants using infected K18-hACE2 mice.

Gut-kidney axis in IgA nephropathy: Role on mesangial cell metabolism and inflammation.

IgA Nephropathy (IgAN) is the commonest primary glomerular disease around the world and represents a significant cause of end-stage renal disease. IgAN is characterized by mesangial deposition of IgA-immune complexes and mesangial expansion. The pathophysiological process includes an abnormally glycosylated IgA1, which is an antigenic target.

Detection of Trypanosoma vivax in tissues of experimentally infected goats: what is the role of adipose tissue in the life cycle of this protozoon?

Trypanosomiasis, caused by Trypanosoma vivax, is responsible for great economic losses among livestock in Africa and South America. During the life cycle of these parasites, they may present different morphological, metabolic and physiological characteristics depending on the interactions that are encountered at each point of their life cycle. Although T.

Eosinophilic inflammation in lymph nodes of dogs with visceral leishmaniasis.

Eosinophils are traditionally associated with the immune response against helminth parasites. However, several studies have demonstrated that these cells have a role regarding protective immunity in leishmaniasis. Here, we examined the relationship between the presence of eosinophils and parasite load in biopsy samples from dogs, obtained through fine needle puncture and aspiration of lymph nodes.

Renopancreatic Transplantation: Evaluation of 15 Years in 131 Patients.

Background: The most common multiple-organ transplant is the simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation (SPK). It is usually offered to patients who have insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and those with diabetic nephropathy and renal failure that has already been established. In this study we present the results of 15 years of SPK in a transplant hospital center in Paraná, Brazil, and evaluated survival, immunosuppression, and transplant-related problems.

Congenital Toxoplasmosis in Chronically Infected and Subsequently Challenged Ewes.

This experiment studied congenital transmission in sheep experimentally infected with oocysts of Toxoplasma gondii and reinfected at one of three stages of pregnancy. Twenty ewes were experimentally infected with T. gondii strain ME49 (day 0).

Macronutrient composition and gestational weight gain: a systematic review.

Background: Abnormal gestational weight gain is associated with unfavorable pregnancy outcomes. Several risk factors have been identified, but the effect of macronutrient intake during pregnancy on gestational weight gain has not been systematically evaluated in both high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries.

Objective: We conducted a systematic review of the literature in 8 different databases (until 12 August 2015) to assess whether energy intake and macronutrient intake (i.

Comparison of PCR with stained slides of bone marrow and lymph nodes aspirates with suspect diagnosis for leishmaniasis.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar, is a disseminated protozoan infection caused by Leishmania donovani complex. Traditionally the definite diagnosis is made by amastigote detection in the tissue. The aim this study was to evaluate the PCR technique in stained slides of bone marrow and lymph nodes aspirates with suspect diagnosis for leishmaniasis.

Healing and expression of growth factors (TGF-β and PDGF) in canine radial ostectomy gap containing platelet-rich plasma.

Objectives: To evaluate bone healing in an experimental radial ostectomy in dogs treated with autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP), through histological, densitometric, radiographic studies, as well as expression of growth factors in the ostectomy gap.

Methods: Twenty-one dogs were randomly divided into either a control or a PRP group. All underwent unilateral ostectomy of the radius to generate a gap of 2.

Fractal dimension and Shannon's entropy analyses of the architectural complexity caused by the inflammatory reactions induced by highly crystalline poly(vinyl alcohol) microspheres implanted in subcutaneous tissues of the Wistar rats.

The results of the histopathological analyses after the implantation of highly crystalline PVA microspheres in subcutaneous tissues of Wistar rats are here in reported. Three different groups of PVA microparticles were systematically studied: highly crystalline, amorphous, and commercial ones. In addition to these experiments, complementary analyses of architectural complexity were performed using fractal dimension (FD), and Shannon's entropy (SE) concepts.

Comparison of conventional PCR, quantitative PCR, bacteriological culture and the Warthin Starry technique to detect Leptospira spp. in kidney and liver samples from naturally infected sheep from Brazil.

Leptospirosis is an infectious disease of worldwide importance. The development of diagnostic techniques allows sick animals to be identified, reservoirs to be eliminated and the disease prevented and controlled. The present study aimed to compare different techniques for diagnosing leptospirosis in sheep.

Detection of the tumour suppressor gene TP53 and expression of p53, Bcl-2 and p63 proteins in canine transmissible venereal tumour.

Canine transmissible venereal tumour (CTVT) is a neoplasm transmitted among healthy dogs by direct contact with injured skin and/or mucous tissue. This study aimed to identify the TP53 gene, messenger RNA (mRNA) as well as the expression of p53, Bcl-2 and p63 proteins in histological sections of 13 CTVT samples at different stages of evolution. The in situ hybridization (ISH) and in situ reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays were used, which showed the DNA homologous to TP53 and its respective mRNA in 92.

Immunohistochemical detection of metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), anti-oxidant like 1 protein (AOP-1) and synaptosomal-associated protein (SNAP-25) in the cerebella of dogs naturally infected with spontaneous canine distemper.

In most viral infections of the central nervous system (CNS), the integrity of brain extracelluar matrix (ECM), oxidative stress and dysfunction in neuronal transmission may contribute to the observed pathology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of these factors in demyelinating canine distemper virus (CDV) infections. Regardless of ECM integrity, the expression of metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) was visualized in microglial-like cells, whereas the expression of anti-oxidant like-1 (AOP-1) and synaptosomal associated protein (SNAP-25) was frequently detected in Purkinje cells (r(2) = 0.

Histopathology of the reproductive system of male sheep experimentally infected with Toxoplasma gondii.

The aim of this study was to investigate the histopathological changes in reproductive system (testicles, epididymis, seminal vesicles, and prostate) of small male ruminants after Toxoplasma gondii infection. Eight sheep were inoculated with T. gondii: group I, four sheep (2.

Occurrence and expression of p53 suppressor gene and c-Myc oncogene in dog eyelid tumors.

Purpose: To detect the occurrence and expression of the suppressor gene p53 and of the oncogene c-Myc in eyelid tumors of dogs using the PCR, RT-PCR, PCR-ELISA and RT-PCR-ELISA techniques. These genes have not been described in dog eyelid tumors before.

Methods: Nine samples of eyelid or third eyelid epithelial tumors were obtained from the archives of the Department of Veterinary Pathology.

Detection of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in environmental samples from public schools.

The number of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts that can be found in random environmental samples is probably low; in addition, these cysts may be confused with Hammondia spp. and Neospora spp. oocysts.

Pathology and tissue distribution of turkey coronavirus in experimentally infected chicks and turkey poults.

Twenty 1-day-old specific pathogen free chicks and 20 1-day-old commercially derived turkey poults were inoculated with a Brazilian strain of turkey coronavirus (TCoV) to study the pathogenicity and virus distribution up to 14 days post-inoculation by histopathology, immunohistochemistry, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. At 2-14 dpi, TCoV antigens were detected in the paranasal sinus and lachrymal accessory gland (Harderian gland) of infected chicks and in the ileum, ileocaecal junction and caecum of infected poults. Lymphocytic inflammation was present in these tissues.

A novel in situ polymerase chain reaction hybridisation assay for the direct detection of bovine herpesvirus type 5 in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues.

An in situ polymerase chain reaction (IS-PCR) hybridisation assay was carried out on the brains of 20 cattle infected naturally with bovine herpesvirus type 5 (BoHV-5). Sections from the olfactory bulb and the frontal cortex of each sample were analysed using IS-PCR followed by hybridisation targeting the BoHV-5 US9 gene using a biotinylated primer. Each of the IS-PCR and hybridisation steps was optimised, and three different methods for detecting the virus were used.

Immunotherapy with the saponin enriched-Leishmune vaccine versus immunochemotherapy in dogs with natural canine visceral leishmaniasis.

Leishmune, the first licensed vaccine for prophylaxis against canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) and is also immunotherapeutic when used with double saponin adjuvant concentration. The Leishmune therapeutic vaccine was assessed for immunotherapy (IT) in 31 infected dogs and for immunochemotherapy (ICT) in combination with allopurinol or amphotericinB/allopurinol, in 35 dogs. Compared to infected untreated control dogs, at month 3, both treatments increased the proportion of dogs showing intradermal response to Leishmania antigen to a similar extent (from 8 to 67%, in the IT and to 76%, in the ICT groups), and conversely reduced from 100 to 38% (IT) and to 18% (ICT) the proportion of symptomatic cases, from 54 to 12% (IT) and to 15% (ICT) the proportion of parasite evidence in lymph nodes and from 48 to 19% (IT) and 12% (ICT) the proportion of deaths, indicating that the immunotherapy with enriched-Leishmune vaccine promotes the control of the clinical and parasitological signs of CVL rendering most dogs asymptomatic although PCR positive.

Epidemiological aspects of astrovirus and coronavirus in poults in the South Eastern Region of Brazil.

A survey of Turkey Coronavirus (TCoV) and Astrovirus (TAstV-2) prevalence was carried out from February to December during 2006 year in semiarid region of Brazil, from a turkey producer area, localized in South Eastern of Brazil. To asses the risk factor related to clinical material, climatic condition and type of RT-PCR applied, cloacal swabs (CS), faeces, sera, bursa of Fabricius (BF), thymus (TH) and spleen (SP) and ileum-caeca region were collected from 30-day-old poults suffering of enteritis episode characterized as poult enteritis mortality syndrome (PEMS). The PEMS clinical features were characterized by watery to foamy faeces, light brown-yellow in colour and low mortality rate.

Prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in dairy cattle, dogs, and humans from the Jauru micro-region, Mato Grosso state, Brazil.

In order to determine the prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies, 2000 serum samples from female dairy cattle belonging to 50 farms in the southwest of Mato Grosso state were analyzed by the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT> or =64). Serum samples from 61 dogs (IFAT> or =40) and 116 humans (IFAT=40), all from the same farm, were also tested. Among these samples, 1420 (71.

Comparative evaluation of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on crude and purified antigen in the diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis in symptomatic and oligosymptomatic dogs.

This study evaluated the performance of crude total antigen (CTA) and fucose-mannose ligand antigen (FML) in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL). The assays used sera from known negative controls (n=30), clinically symptomatic (n=30) and oligosymptomatic (n=30) parasitologically proven infection (by microscopy). Aspirates of popliteal lymph node from infected canines were colleted to score parasitism and compared with the ELISA results.

Feline cholangitis/ chonlangiohepatitis complex secondary to Platynosomum fastosum infection in a cat.

Platynosomiasis has been associated with cholangitis/cholangiohepatitis complex in domestic cats. Despite being typically asymptomatic, some individuals may develop severe disease resulting in hepatic cirrhosis. Definitive diagnosis by means of parasite eggs direct visualization is not always possible and complementary tests should be associated.