Publications by authors named "Marcela Pereira"

Species composition of the healthy adult gut microbiota tends to be stable over time. Destabilization of the gut microbiome under the influence of different factors is the main driver of the microbial dysbiosis and subsequent impacts on host physiology. Here, we used metagenomics data from a Swedish longitudinal cohort, to determine the stability of the gut microbiome and uncovered two distinct microbial species groups; persistent colonizing species (PCS) and transient colonizing species (TCS).

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Treatments are only partially effective in major depressive disorders (MDD) but no biomarker exists to predict symptom improvement in patients. Animal models are essential tools in the development of antidepressant medications, but while recent genetic studies have demonstrated the polygenic contribution to MDD, current models are limited to either mimic the effect of a single gene or environmental factor. We developed in the past a model of depressive-like behaviors in mice (H/Rouen), using selective breeding based on behavioral reaction after an acute mild stress in the tail suspension test.

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The consumption of coffee and caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is part of many cultures worldwide. Their properties include serving as a neurostimulant aid, enhancing energy substrate levels, and improving general exercise performance. Both present therapeutic effects that can also be used to control chronic and metabolic diseases due to four mechanisms: adenosine receptor antagonism, increased catecholamine concentrations, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, and a stimulator of calcium-release channels.

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by the presence of restricted/repetitive behaviors and social communication deficits. Because effective treatments for ASD remain elusive, novel therapeutic strategies are necessary. Preclinical studies show that L.

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COVID-19 has infected humans worldwide, causing millions of deaths or prolonged symptoms in survivors. The transient or persistent symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection have been defined as post-COVID-19 conditions (PCC). We conducted a study of 151 Brazilian PCC patients to analyze symptoms and immunoglobulin profiles, taking into account sex, vaccination, hospitalization, and age.

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Background: The use of probiotic lactic acid bacteria as a mucosal vaccine vector is considered a promising alternative compared to the use of other microorganisms because of its "Generally Regarded as Safe" status, its potential adjuvant properties, and its tolerogenicity to the host. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is highly transmissible and pathogenic. This study aimed to determine the potential of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum expressing SARS-CoV-2 epitopes as a mucosal vaccine against SARS-CoV-2.

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, a Swedish fermented fish, loved by some and avoided by others, occurs in many reports on improved or cured gastrointestinal problems even by a single meal. We tested the hypothesis that the microbes of the fermented food might have a potency to modify the gut microbiome. Two groups of voluntary participants (11 male, 8 female; aged 20-80 years) were exposed to a single meal containing the fish.

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Recent evidence shows the cardiometabolic effects of estrogen administration in postmenopausal women. Women have a cardiometabolic advantage during their reproductive years, which is lost at menopause due to declining estradiol (E2). E2, also known as 17-beta-estradiol, has diverse effects in its target tissues, including the cardiovascular (CV) system, through genomic and non-genomic signaling.

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Background: The effects of proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) on the infant microbiome remain unclear. Swedish pilot cohort study to assess the longitudinal effect of long-term PPI on the infant gut microbiome, including ten newborn infants operated for esophageal atresia exposed to PPIs (mean 57 weeks), compared to healthy one-year-old controls. All children were born vaginally and were otherwise healthy.

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Introduction: The management of patients with dyslipidemia (DLP) requires intensive medical follow-up as an essential part of treatment and to reduce the risk of cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether adherence to medical treatment changed the prevalence of CV disease events in a retrospective 7-year follow-up analysis.

Methods: This retrospective study involved 92 patients divided into two groups according to their adherence: the REG group with 64 patients who had medical appointments from 2012 to 2018, and the DROP group, with 28 patients who had medical appointments in 2012 but did not complete regular appointments until 2018.

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Infectious diseases caused by mucosal pathogens significantly increase mortality and morbidity. Thus, the possibility to target these pathogens at their primary entry points can consolidate protective immunity. Regarding SARS-CoV-2 infection, it has been observed that the upper respiratory mucosa is highly affected and that dysregulation of resident microbiota in the gut-lung axis plays a crucial role in determining symptom severity.

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Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have become some of the most urgent and prevalent health problems in recent decades, side by side with the growing obesity crisis. The close relationship between T2DM and CVD has become clear: endothelial dysfunction caused by oxidative stress and inflammation resulting from hyperglycaemia are the key factors in the development of vascular complications of T2DM, leading to CVD. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a great candidate for the treatment of these diseases, acting precisely at the intersection between T2DM and CVD that is oxidative stress, due to its strong antioxidant activity and fundamental physiological role in mitochondrial bioenergetics.

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The flavonoid myricitrin showed an antidepressant-like effect in the tail suspension test and increased hippocampal neurogenesis, as well as demonstrating anti-inflammatory effects. Interestingly, inflammation has been linked to depression, and anti-inflammatory drugs showed promising results as antidepressant-like drugs. Thus, the present study evaluated the effects of myricitrin in the chronic mild stress (CMS) model, a translational and valid animal model of depression, using the mini-experiment design to improve the reproducibility of the findings.

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Algorithms can have several purposes in the clinical practice. There are different scales for causality imputation in DILI (Drug-Induced Liver Injury), but the applicability and validity of these for the HILI (Herb-Induced Liver Injury) evaluation is questionable for some scales. The purpose of the study was to determine the clinical and demographic profile of the patients with HILI, and the main algorithmic scales used in its causality assessment.

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The present study describes the use of fucoidan, a negative sulfated polysaccharide, as a coating material for the development of liposomes targeted to macrophages infected with . First, fucoidan was chemically modified to obtain a hydrophobized-fucoidan derivative (cholesteryl-fucoidan) using a two-step microwave-assisted (μW) method. The total reaction time was decreased from 14 hours to 1 hour while maintaining the overall yield.

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The vaginal microbiome has been connected to a wide range of health outcomes. This has led to a thriving research environment but also to the use of conflicting methodologies to study its microbial composition. Here, we systematically assessed best practices for the sequencing-based characterization of the human vaginal microbiome.

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Article Synopsis
  • MALDI-MSI is a technique used in drug development to visualize drugs and their metabolites in tissue sections, but accurate quantification remains challenging.
  • This study introduces a quantitative MALDI-MSI method for measuring citalopram levels in mouse brain tissue, using both TOF and FTICR mass analyzers, and evaluates various calibration methods to improve accuracy.
  • Validation results showed that the new MALDI-MSI approach provided comparable brain concentrations of citalopram to the established LC-MS/MS method, and highlighted significant effects of citalopram on serotonin levels in the hippocampus.
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Patients suffering from mood disorders and anxiety commonly exhibit hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis and autonomic hyperresponsiveness. A wealth of data using preclinical animal models and human patient samples indicate that p11 deficiency is implicated in depression-like phenotypes. In the present study, we used p11-deficient (p11KO) mice to study potential roles of p11 in stress responsiveness.

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Background: The placenta plays an important role in the modulation of pregnancy immunity; however, there is no consensus regarding the existence of a placental microbiome in healthy full-term pregnancies.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the existence and origin of a placental microbiome.

Study Design: A cross-sectional study comparing samples (3 layers of placental tissue, amniotic fluid, vernix caseosa, and saliva, vaginal, and rectal samples) from 2 groups of full-term births: 50 women not in labor with elective cesarean deliveries and 26 with vaginal deliveries.

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Accumulation of misfolded proteins results in cellular stress, and is detected by specific sensors in the endoplasmic reticulum, collectively known as the unfolded protein response (UPR). It has been prominently proposed that the UPR is involved in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). In the present study, the levels of the UPR proteins and mRNA transcripts were quantified in brain tissue from PD patients and matched controls.

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We investigated the relation between swimming exercise and fear memory extinction. Rats that performed regular swimming exercise over 6 wk underwent fear conditioning. Twenty-eight days later, they were submitted to extinction tests.

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Early initiation of antiretroviral therapy increases the likelihood of effective immune restoration, quality of life, and greater life expectancy for HIV-infected individuals. We evaluated the evolution of mean CD4+ cells count at diagnosis of HIV/AIDS in Salvador, Brazil from 2002 to 2015. We identified HIV/AIDS patients older than 18 years with diagnosis of HIV infection from 2002 to 2015, who had their first laboratory evaluation at Complexo Hospitalar Prof.

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The trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) is expressed by dopaminergic neurons, but the precise influence of trace amines upon their functional activity remains to be fully characterized. Here, we examined the regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) by tyramine and beta-phenylethylamine (β-PEA) compared to 3-iodothyronamine (TAM). Immunoblotting and amperometry were performed in dorsal striatal slices from wild-type (WT) and TAAR1 knockout (KO) mice.

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Cashew nut allergy is the second most commonly reported tree nut allergy. Traditional allergen immunotherapy presents several clinical drawbacks that can be reduced by using nanoparticles-basedallergen-delivery systems, modulating the immune response towards a protective one. In this context, the goal of this work was to assess the potential of poly(anhydride) nanoparticles (NP) for cashew nut oral immunization.

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