Publications by authors named "Maria I Araujo"

The mechanisms involved in the development of resistance to infection/reinfection by Schistosoma mansoni still arouse great interest and controversy. Some authors demonstrate that resistance to infection is attributed to a mixed Th1 and Th2 response and resistance to reinfection after repeated treatments through mechanisms associated with the Th2 response. Through flow cytometry, the phenotypic characterization of B and T lymphocytes in individuals residing in endemic areas with low parasite loads over 10 years was evaluated for the first time in humans.

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Unlabelled: Schistosomiasis affects about 240 million people worldwide and is estimated that about 700 million people live in areas at risk of infection. In the context of immune response associated with infection by Schistosoma mansoni, the role of memory T cells is not well understood.

Aim: To evaluate the frequency of memory CD4 and CD8 T cells from individuals resistant and susceptible to Schistosoma mansoni infection.

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Article Synopsis
  • Asthma affects people differently depending on their race, and there haven't been enough studies on people of African ancestry.
  • A new study looked at data from 7,009 people with asthma and 7,645 without, and found strong links to four previously known gene areas.
  • The study also discovered two new gene areas that might be especially important for asthma risk in people of African ancestry.
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Background: The immunopathogenesis of severe asthma has been associated with an inefficient regulatory response. There are a few studies about the CD4 T cells profile among individuals with severe asthma refractory to treatment.

Objective: To evaluate the CD4 T lymphocyte profile from individuals with severe asthma according to their response to treatment, relating to their atopy status and age of asthma onset.

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In the version of this article initially published, the statement "there are no pan-genomes for any other animal or plant species" was incorrect. The statement has been corrected to "there are no reported pan-genomes for any other animal species, to our knowledge." We thank David Edwards for bringing this error to our attention.

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We used a deeply sequenced dataset of 910 individuals, all of African descent, to construct a set of DNA sequences that is present in these individuals but missing from the reference human genome. We aligned 1.19 trillion reads from the 910 individuals to the reference genome (GRCh38), collected all reads that failed to align, and assembled these reads into contiguous sequences (contigs).

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Background: Chronic schistosomiasis and its severe complication, periportal fibrosis, are characterized by a predominant T2 response. To date, specific single nucleotide polymorphisms in ST2 have been some of the most consistently associated genetic variants for asthma.

Objective: We investigated the role of ST2 (a receptor for the T2 cytokine IL-33) in chronic and late-stage schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma japonicum and the potential effect of ST2 genetic variants on stage of disease and ST2 expression.

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Unlabelled: HTLV-1 is the causal agent of Adult T cell Leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and HTLV-1-associated Myelopathy/Tropical Spastic Paraparesis (HAM/TSP). The immune response to HTLV-1-infection is polarized to the Th1-type, and the presence of CXCL9/CXCL10 chemokines may lead to an increase in the recruitment of pro-inflammatory molecules in spinal cord tissue, contributing to the damage observed in the development of HAM/TSP. It has been observed that in chronic helminth-infections, such as schistosomiasis, there is a deviation toward the Th2/regulatory immune response.

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Unlabelled: Asthma is a chronic disease characterized by airway inflammation, obstruction and hyperresponsiveness. Severe asthma affects a small proportion of subjects but results in most of the morbidity, costs and mortality associated with the disease. Studies have suggested that Schistosoma mansoni infection reduces the severity of asthma and prevent atopy.

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The African Diaspora in the Western Hemisphere represents one of the largest forced migrations in history and had a profound impact on genetic diversity in modern populations. To date, the fine-scale population structure of descendants of the African Diaspora remains largely uncharacterized. Here we present genetic variation from deeply sequenced genomes of 642 individuals from North and South American, Caribbean and West African populations, substantially increasing the lexicon of human genomic variation and suggesting much variation remains to be discovered in African-admixed populations in the Americas.

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Background: Schistosomal myeloradiculopathy (SMR) is the most serious ectopic presentation of Schistosoma mansoni infection. The pathogenesis occurs mainly via the host inflammatory response to the eggs of the parasite that are stuck in the central nervous system, and the diagnosis is generally made by the exclusion of other neurological diseases.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the immune status of SMR patients and to identify a marker for SMR diagnosis.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the production of virulence factors in Candida isolates from the oral cavities of 50 patients with different degrees of denture stomatitis (DS, type I, II and III) and 50 individuals without signs of DS. We evaluated the enzymatic and hemolytic activities, the biofilm formation, and the cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) in all isolates. Germ tube (GT) production was also evaluated in Candida albicans and Candida dubliniensis isolates.

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Introduction: The association of fibromyalgia (FM) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have been investigated, with conflicting results regarding the impact of a condition on the other.

Objectives: To determine the frequency of FM in a sample of patients with SLE treated at the Hospital Complex of Sorocaba (CHS) and the impact of FM in SLE activity and quality of life, as well as of SLE in FM.

Material And Methods: Descriptive and correlational study.

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The inflammatory response in cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), although responsible for controlling the infection, is associated with the pathogenesis of disease. Conversely, the immune response induced by S. mansoni antigens is able to prevent immune-mediated diseases.

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A major issue with Schistosoma mansoni infection is the development of periportal fibrosis, which is predominantly caused by the host immune response to egg antigens. Experimental studies have pointed to the participation of monocytes in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis. The aim of this study was to characterize the subsets of monocytes in individuals with different degrees of periportal fibrosis secondary to schistosomiasis.

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The Th2 immune response in chronic schistosomiasis is associated with the development of periportal fibrosis. However, little is known about the phenotype and activation status of T cells in the process. Objective.

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Unlabelled: Human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the causal agent of HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). While the immune response to HTLV-1 infection is polarized to the Th1-type, chronic helminth infections drive the Th2- and T regulatory-type, and are able to downregulate the inflammatory response in some autoimmune diseases.

Objective: To evaluate whether Schistosoma spp.

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Characterization of genetic admixture of populations in the Americas and the Caribbean is of interest for anthropological, epidemiological, and historical reasons. Asthma has a higher prevalence and is more severe in populations with a high African component. Association of African ancestry with asthma has been demonstrated.

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Periportal fibrosis in schistosomiasis has been associated to the host immune response to parasite antigens. We evaluated the immune response in S. mansoni infected individuals with different degrees of periportal fibrosis.

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High levels of proinflammatory cytokines such as IFN-γ and TNF are associated with tissue lesions in cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). We previously demonstrated that Schistosoma mansoni antigens downmodulate the in vitro cytokine response in CL. In the current study we evaluated whether S.

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Protective factors associated with atopy or asthma in rural areas include socioeconomic level, overcrowding, and helminth infection. However, little epidemiological information was originated from schistosomiasis areas. This study aimed to investigate factors associated with asthma in a schistosomiasis endemic area.

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This is a prospective, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled trial evaluating the influence of antihelminthic treatments on asthma severity in individuals living in an endemic area of schistosomiasis. Patients from group 1 received placebo of Albendazole or of Praziquantel and from group 2 received Albendazole and Praziquantel. Asthma severity was assessed by clinical scores and by pulmonary function test.

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Background: IL-13 is a signature cytokine of the helper T cell type 2 (TH2) pathway which underlies host defense to helminthic infection and activates production of IgE in both parasitized populations and in urban settings after allergen exposure.

Methodology/principal Findings: Two functional polymorphisms in IL13, rs1800925 (or c.1-1111C>T) and rs20541 (or R130Q) were previously found to be associated with Schistosoma hematobium infection intensity.

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