IFN-γ Mediated Signaling Improves Fungal Clearance in Experimental Pulmonary Mucormycosis.

We established three immunocompetent murine models of pulmonary mucormycosis to determine the involvement of the adaptive immune response in host resistance in pulmonary mucormycosis, a rapidly fatal disease caused mainly by Rhizopus spp. Immunocompetent inbred (C57BL/6, BALB/c) and outbred (Swiss) strains of mice were inoculated with R. oryzae via the intratracheal route.

Enhanced expression of NLRP3 inflammasome components by monocytes of patients with pulmonary paracoccidioidomycosis is associated with smoking and intracellular hypoxemia.

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a systemic mycosis caused by thermally dimorphic fungi of the genus Paracoccidioides that affects predominantly 30-60-year-old male rural workers. The main clinical forms of the disease are acute/subacute, chronic (CF); almost all CF patients develop pulmonary fibrosis, and they also exhibit emphysema due to smoke. An important cytokine in this context, IL-1β, different from the others, is produced by an intracellular multimolecular complex called inflammasome that is activated by pathogens and/or host signs of damage.

Gliotoxin Aggravates Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis by Triggering Neuroinflammation.

Gliotoxin (GTX) is the major and the most potent mycotoxin that is secreted by , which is capable of injuring and killing microglial cells, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. During the last years, studies with patients and experimental models of multiple sclerosis (MS), which is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS), suggested that fungal infections are among the possible initiators or aggravators of this pathology. The deleterious effect can occur through a direct interaction of the fungus with the CNS or by the toxin release from a non-neurological site.

Crude leaf extracts of Piperaceae species downmodulate inflammatory responses by human monocytes.

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of crude leaf extracts from Piper gaudichaudianum Kunth, P. arboreum Aub., P.

Pesticide dichorvos induces early solid Ehrlich tumoral development associated with a non-protective pro-inflammatory response.

Prolonged exposure to dichlorvos (DDVP), a common pesticide used for food crops, has been related to the development of infections and malignancies. Macrophages are used as bioindicators of immunotoxicity; thus, evaluation of their activity in solid Ehrlich tumor-bearing mice (TBM) may be useful to evaluate the influence of pesticides on human health. To investigate the effects of low DDVP doses, Swiss mice were divided into the following groups: the DDVP group, composed of mice fed diets containing 10 mg/kg of DDVP; the TBM group, consisting of mice subcutaneously inoculated with 10 tumor cells/100 μl and fed a basal diet; the DDVP-TBM group, consisting of mice previously fed DDVP-containing diets for 28 days and then subcutaneously inoculated with tumor cells; and the control (CTRL) group, composed of mice fed a basal diet.

Increased peripheral blood TCD4+ counts and serum SP-D levels in patients with chronic paracoccidioidomycosis, during and after antifungal therapy.

Background: The main clinical forms of paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) are the acute/subacute form (AF) and the chronic form (CF), and they both display considerable clinical variability. The immune responses of PCM patients, during and after treatment, remain neglected, mainly in the case of CF patients, due to the high prevalence of pulmonary sequelae.

Objective: To evaluate the distribution of whole blood T cell subsets, serum cytokines, and biomarkers of pulmonary fibrosis in PCM patients, according to the clinical form and at different time points, during the antifungal therapy.

Altered distribution of peripheral blood dendritic cell subsets in patients with pulmonary paracoccidioidomycosis.

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a systemic mycosis caused by fungi from the genus Paracoccidioides in Latin America. PCM-patients (PCM-p) are classified as having acute/subacute or chronic (CF) clinical forms. CF is responsible for 75%-90% of all cases, affects mainly adults over 30 years old and the clinical manifestation are associated mainly with lungs and mucosa of upper airdigestive tract.

TLR2 Mice Display Increased Clearance of Dermatophyte in the Setting of Hyperglycemia.

Dermatophytosis is one of the most common human infections affecting both immunocompetent individuals and immunocompromised patients, in whom the disease is more aggressive and can reach deep tissues. Over the last decades, cases of deep dermatophytosis have increased and the dermatophyte-host interplay remains poorly investigated. Pattern recognition molecules, such as Toll-like receptors (TLR), play a crucial role against infectious diseases.

Tolerogenic Vaccination with MOG/VitD Overcomes Aggravating Effect of C. albicans in Experimental Encephalomyelitis.

Aims: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system (CNS). We described that Candida albicans (Ca) aggravates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) that is a model to study MS. We also observed that vaccination with a myelin peptide (MOG) in the presence of vitamin D (VitD) protected mice against EAE.

Imbalanced Macrophage and Dendritic Cell Activations in Response to Candida albicans in a Murine Model of Diabetes Mellitus.

Bloodstream infections caused by Candida species are responsible for high morbidity and mortality, and diabetes mellitus (DM) is an important underlying disease in candidemia episodes. Although DM patients show an enhanced proinflammatory profile, they are highly susceptible to mycobacterial and mycotic infections. Attempting to understand this paradox, we investigated if imbalanced macrophage and dendritic cell (DC) activations could be associated to high incidence and/or severity of Candida albicans infection in the hypoinsulinemia-hyperglycemia (HH) milieu.

Relationship among Short and Long Term of Hypoinsulinemia-Hyperglycemia, Dermatophytosis, and Immunobiology of Mononuclear Phagocytes.

Dermatophytes are fungi responsible for causing superficial infections. In patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), dermatophytosis is usually more severe and recurrent. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the influence of short and long term hypoinsulinemia-hyperglycemia (HH) during experimental infection by Trichophyton mentagrophytes as well as alterations in the mononuclear phagocytes.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis development is aggravated by Candida albicans infection.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory/autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) mainly mediated by myelin specific T cells. It is widely believed that environmental factors, including fungal infections, contribute to disease induction or evolution. Even though Candida infection among MS patients has been described, the participation of this fungus in this pathology is not clear.

Phenotypic and functional evaluations of peripheral blood monocytes from chronic-form paracoccidioidomycosis patients before and after treatment.

Background: Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is systemic mycosis caused by the thermal dimorphic fungus of genus Paracoccidioides, leading to either acute/subacute (AF) or chronic (CF) clinical forms. Numerous CF patients after treatment exhibit sequels, such as pulmonary and adrenal fibrosis. Monocytes are cells that are involved in the inflammatory response during active infection as well as in the fibrogenesis.

Trafficking of phagocytic peritoneal cells in hypoinsulinemic-hyperglycemic mice with systemic candidiasis.

Background: Candidemia is a severe fungal infection that primarily affects hospitalized and/or immunocompromised patients. Mononuclear phagocytes have been recognized as pivotal immune cells which act in the recognition of pathogens, phagocytosis, inflammation, polarization of adaptive immune response and tissue repair. Experimental studies have showed that the systemic candidiasis could be controlled by activated peritoneal macrophages.

Dermatophyte-host relationship of a murine model of experimental invasive dermatophytosis.

Recognizing the invasive potential of the dermatophytes and understanding the mechanisms involved in this process will help with disease diagnosis and with developing an appropriate treatment plan. In this report, we present the histopathological, microbiological and immunological features of a model of invasive dermatophytosis that is induced by subcutaneous infection of Trichophyton mentagrophytes in healthy adult Swiss mice. Using this model, we observed that the fungus rapidly spreads to the popliteal lymph nodes, spleen, liver and kidneys.

Morphofunctional evaluation of thymus in hyperglycemic-hypoinsulinemic mice during dermatophytic infection.

Many works have shown that the enhanced susceptibility to infection seen in diabetic patients can be related to the hyperglycemia-hypoinsulinemia (HH) observed in this condition. Herein, we evaluated the HH effects on the morphofunctional features of the thymus as well as on dermatophytic infection. We demonstrated that, not only the HH condition but also the dermatophytic infection induced transitory alterations in the thymus; it was characterized by loss of cortical-medullar definition and disorganization of the extracellular matrix.

Thymic microenvironmental alterations in experimentally induced diabetes.

Little is known about the immunologic consequences from endocrine changes observed in diabetes. Since a preserved thymic microenvironment is of critical importance for the T cell development and maturation, we have examined the thymus from alloxan-diabetic mice. An intense thymic atrophy accompanied by changes in histological pattern and in thymocyte subpopulations were observed in diabetic mice.

Modulation of macrophage cytokine profiles during solid tumor progression: susceptibility to Candida albicans infection.

Background: In order to attain a better understanding of the interactions between opportunist fungi and their hosts, we investigated the cytokine profile associated with the inflammatory response to Candida albicans infection in mice with solid Ehrlich tumors of different degrees.

Methods: Groups of eight animals were inoculated intraperitoneally with 5 x 106 C. albicans 7, 14 or 21 days after tumor implantation.

Multiresidue analysis of pesticides in soil by supercritical fluid extraction/gas chromatography with electron-capture detection and confirmation by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

The applicability of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) in pesticide multiresidue analysis (organohalogen, organonitrogen, organophosphorus, and pyrethroid) in soil samples was investigated. Fortification experiments were conducted to test the conventional extraction (solid-liquid) and to optimize the extraction procedure in SFE by varying the CO2 modifier, temperature, extraction time, and pressure. The best efficiency was achieved at 400 bar using methanol as modifier at 60 degrees C.