Publications by authors named "Maria A Do Valle Matta"

Chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy (CCC) is observed in 30% to 50% of the individuals infected by Trypanosoma cruzi and heart failure is the important cause of death among patients in the chronic phase of Chagas disease. Although some studies have elucidated the role of adaptive immune responses involving T and B lymphocytes in cardiac pathogenesis, the role of innate immunity receptors such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and Nod-like receptors (NLRs) in CCC pathophysiology has not yet been determined. In this study, we evaluated the association among innate immune receptors (TLR1-9 and nucleotide-binding domain-like receptor protein 3/NLRP3), its adapter molecules (Myd88, TRIF, ASC and caspase-1) and cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, IL-18, IL-23, TNF-α, and IFN-β) with clinical manifestation, digestive and cardiac function in patients with different clinical forms of chronic Chagas disease.

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Ischemic strokes have been implicated as a cause of death in Chagas disease patients. Inflammation has been recognized as a key component in all ischemic processes, including the intravascular events triggered by vessel interruption, brain damage and repair. In this study, we evaluated the association between inflammatory markers and the death risk (DR) and stroke risk (SR) of patients with different clinical forms of chronic Chagas disease.

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Dogs are the primary reservoir for Leishmania parasites. The immune response induced by Leishmania infantum infection in these animals has not been completely elucidated, and few studies have investigated the relationship between the expression levels of chemokines and chemokine receptors and the clinical status of dogs with canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL). The aim of this study was to correlate the clinical status of naturally L.

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Chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy affects 20% of Chagas' disease patients. At present, Chagas' disease chemotherapy uses nitrofurans, benznidazole (Rochagan®, Rodanil®, Roche) or nifurtimox (Lampit®, Bayer). Treatment during acute and recent chronic phases in childhood effects 71.

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Chemokines and chemokine receptors interaction have presented important role in leukocyte migration to specific immune reaction sites. Recently, it has been reported that chemokine receptors CXC (CXCR3) and CC (CCR5) were preferentially expressed on Th1 cells while CCR3 and CCR4 were preferentially expressed on Th2 cells. This study evaluated the mRNA expression of type 1 and type 2 chemokine and chemokine receptors in the cardiac tissue of Beagle dogs infected with distinct genetic groups of Trypanosoma cruzi (Y, Berenice-78 and ABC strains) during acute and chronic phases.

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Background And Purpose: Benznidazole (Bz) is the therapy currently available for clinical treatment of Chagas' disease. However, many strains of Trypanosoma cruzi parasites are naturally resistant. Nitric oxide (NO) produced by activated macrophages is crucial to the intracellular killing of parasites.

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When infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, Beagle dogs develop symptoms similar to those of Chagas disease in human beings, and could be an important experimental model for a better understanding of the immunopathogenic mechanisms involved in chronic chagasic infection. This study evaluates IL-10, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha production in the sera, culture supernatant, heart and cervical lymph nodes and their correlation with cardiomegaly, cardiac inflammation and fibrosis in Beagle dogs infected with T. cruzi.

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