Enhanced Migratory Capacity of T Lymphocytes in Severe Chagasic Patients Is Correlated With VLA-4 and TNF-α Expression.

infection in humans leads to progression to chronic chagasic myocarditis (CCM) in 30% of infected individuals, paralleling T cell inflammatory infiltrates in the heart tissue. T-cell trafficking into the hearts of CCM patients may be modulated by expression of chemotactic or haptotactic molecules, as the chemokine CXCL12, the cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and extracellular matrix proteins (ECM), such as fibronectin. Herein we evaluated the expression of fibronectin, CXCL12, and TNF-α in the myocardial tissue of seropositive (asymptomatic or with CCM), as well as seronegative individuals as healthy controls.

Chagas disease reactivation in rheumatologic patients: association with immunosuppressive therapy and humoral response.

Evidence for Chagas disease reactivation (CDR) in rheumatologic patients under rheumatologic treatments (RTs) is scarce. To screen and follow-up patients with rheumatic diseases and concomitant Chagas disease under RT to detect CDR and to describe a possible relationship between CDR and specific RT. An observational, longitudinal, prospective, consecutive study was carried out between 2018 and 2020.

The Role of High Mobility Group Box 1 Protein (HMGB1) in the Immunopathology of Experimental Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Background: The high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is the prototype of alarmin protein released by stressed or dying cells. The redox state of this protein confers different functions in the regulation of inflammation and immune response.

Aim: Determine the kinetics, cellular sources and function of HMGB1 in experimental tuberculosis.

Immunoendocrine interactions during HIV-TB coinfection: implications for the design of new adjuvant therapies.

Worldwide, around 14 million individuals are coinfected with both tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In coinfected individuals, both pathogens weaken immunological system synergistically through mechanisms that are not fully understood. During both HIV and TB infections, there is a chronic state of inflammation associated to dramatic changes in immune cytokine and endocrine hormone levels.

Impaired neutrophil function in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and its normalization in those undergoing specific treatment, except the HIV-coinfected cases.

Our study investigated whether the respiratory burst (RB) of polymorphonuclear neutrophils from tuberculosis (TB) patients was related with the disease severity or treatment, as well as the circulating levels of TNF-alpha. The sample comprised 57 patients with moderate (n=21) or advanced disease (n=36, 13 of them with HIV coinfection, TB-HIV) and 12 controls. Patients were newly diagnosed (n=27) or under treatment (moderate=14, advanced=10, TB-HIV=6).