Molecular assessment of Chlamydia psittaci and Circovirus in psittacines from a CETAS in Bahia, Brazil.

Mistreatment and unsanitary conditions to which trafficked animals are subjected provide an environment conducive to the proliferation and dissemination of pathogens. The Centros de Triagem de Animais Silvestres (CETAS - Wild Animal Screening Centers), which receive trafficked animals, aim to release them back into the wild, thus making the investigation of pathogens essential. The objective of this study was to conduct an epidemiological study of infections by Chlamydia psittaci and Circovirus in psittacines from wildlife trafficking housed at a CETAS in Bahia.

Hyperresponsiveness of Corticoid-Resistant Th17/Tc-17 Cells to TLR-2 and TLR-4 Ligands is a Feature of Multiple Sclerosis Patients at Higher Risk of Therapy Failure.

Purpose: The presence of T cells expressing TLR-2 and TLR-4 has been associated with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) pathogenesis. Here, we evaluated whether the effectiveness of DMT in controlling clinical activity of the disease would be associated with modulation of proportion of TLRs T cells.

Patients And Methods: Whole peripheral blood mononuclear cells, purified CD4 and CD8 T cells from RRMS patients were cultured with different stimuli.

Leptin favors imbalance of antigen-specific CD4 T-cells associated with severity of cat allergy.

Introduction: Obesity can complicate IgE-mediated allergic diseases. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the ability of obesity-related concentrations of leptin to modulate the effector and regulatory Fel d1-specific CD4 T-cell subsets in patients allergic to cat, considered the third most common cause of respiratory allergy in humans.

Methods: For this study, plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 30 cat-allergic patients with mild, moderate and severe respiratory symptoms were obtained.

Major depression favors the expansion of Th17-like cells and decrease the proportion of CD39Treg cell subsets in response to myelin antigen in multiple sclerosis patients.

Background: Mood disorders have been associated with risk of clinical relapses in multiple sclerosis (MS), a demyelinating disease mediated by myelin-specific T cells.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the impact of major depressive disorder (MDD) and cytokine profile of T-cells in relapsing remitting MS patients.

Methods: For our study, plasma and PBMC were obtained from 60 MS patients (30 with lifetime MDD) in remission phase.

Elevated proportion of TLR2- and TLR4-expressing Th17-like cells and activated memory B cells was associated with clinical activity of cerebral cavernous malformations.

Background: Recent evidences have suggested the involvement of toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 in the pathogenesis of cerebral cavernous malformations (CCM). Elevated frequency of TLRT-cells has been associated with neurological inflammatory disorders. As T-cells and B-cells are found in CCM lesions, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the cytokine profile of T-cells expressing TLR2 and TLR4, as well as B-cell subsets, in asymptomatic (CCM) and symptomatic (CCM) patients.

Major Depressive Disorder Enhances Th2 and Th17 Cytokines in Patients Suffering from Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma.

Introduction: Major depressive disorder (MDD) can impact the severity of allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma (AA). Here, we evaluated the cytokine production by T-cells from AR and AA patients with or without MDD. The effect of serotonin on the in vitro T-cell response was also evaluated.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor attenuates the hyperresponsiveness of TLR2 and TLR4 Th17/Tc17-like cells in multiple sclerosis patients with major depression.

Elevated frequency of Th17-like cells expressing Toll-like receptors (TLRs) has been recently associated with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis, a chronic inflammatory demyelinating autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. We aimed to investigate the impact of current major depressive disorder (MDD) on the behaviour of these cells following in vitro stimulation with TLR2, TLR4, TLR5 and TLR9 agonists. Here, the level of both cell proliferation and cytokine production related to Th17/Tc17 phenotypes in response to TLR2 (Pam3C) and TLR4 (LPS) ligands was significantly higher in CD4 and CD8 T-cell cultures from MS/MDD patients when compared to non-depressed patients.

Human pregnancy levels of estrogen and progesterone contribute to humoral immunity by activating T /B cell axis.

Circulating T (cT ) cells express CXCR5, PD-1, and, when activated, ICOS, and release IL-21. According to the production of IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-17 and expression of FoxP3, these cells are also classified as cT 1, cT 2, cT 17, and cT cells, respectively. This CD4 T-cell subset is pivotal to efficient humoral immunity, and pregnancy appears to favor IgG production.

TLR-2 and TLR-4 agonists favor expansion of CD4 T cell subsets implicated in the severity of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders.

Background: High frequency of circulating Th17 cell subsets expressing TLR2, TLR4 and TLR9 was observed in Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) patients, a severe humoral autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Our objective was to evaluate the direct effects of different TLR ligands on CD4 T-cells form those patients.

Methods: CD4 T-cell cultures from NMOSD and healthy individuals were stimulated with different TLR ligands and the cell proliferation and cytokine profile was analyzed by [H] TdR up take and ELISA/ cytometry, respectively.

Serotonin decreases the production of Th1/Th17 cytokines and elevates the frequency of regulatory CD4 T-cell subsets in multiple sclerosis patients.

Excessive levels of proinflammatory cytokines in the CNS are associated with reduced serotonin (5-HT) synthesis, a neurotransmitter with diverse immune effects. In this study, we evaluated the ability of exogenous 5-HT to modulate the T-cell behavior of patients with MS, a demyelinating autoimmune disease mediated by Th1 and Th17 cytokines. Here, 5-HT attenuated, in vitro, T-cell proliferation and Th1 and Th17 cytokines production in cell cultures from MS patients.

Different interleukin-17-secreting Toll-like receptor T-cell subsets are associated with disease activity in multiple sclerosis.

Signalling through Toll-like receptors (TLRs) may play a role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). In the present study, the expression of TLR-2, -4 and -9 was significantly higher on CD4 and CD8 T-cells from MS patients compared to healthy individuals. Following in-vitro activation, the proportion of interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-6 CD4 and CD8 T-cells was higher in the patients.

Pregnancy favors the expansion of circulating functional follicular helper T Cells.

Pregnancy favors antibody production, and some evidence has suggested a direct effect of estrogen on B cells. The impact of pregnancy on circulating follicular helper T (T) cells, typically identified by the expression of CD45RO and CXCR5, has not been previously investigated. Here, the percentage of T cells, co-expressing or not PD-1, ICOS, or CXCR3 markers was significantly higher in pregnant women (PW) as compared with non-pregnant ones (nPW).

Fatigue favors in vitro Th1 and Th17-like cell expansion and reduces corticoid sensitivity in MS patients.

Fatigue is a common "ghost" symptom in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease mediated by T cells that target myelin antigens of the central nervous system. As fatigue has been associated with inflammatory states, its occurrence may negatively impact MS progression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of fatigue on the cytokine profile of patients with relapsing-remitting (RR) MS.

Combined exercise training reduces fatigue and modulates the cytokine profile of T-cells from multiple sclerosis patients in response to neuromediators.

Fatigue is a common and disabling symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS), a classical Th1- and Th17-mediated autoimmune disease. There is no effective pharmacological treatment for fatigue, but some reports point towards beneficial effects of physical activity on management of the fatigue in MS patients. As both MS and fatigue have been associated with dysregulated cytokine network production, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the impact of a physical activity program consisting of a 12-week series of combining Pilates and aerobic exercises on fatigue severity, determined by FSS, and cytokine production, quantified by ELISA, by T cells from MS patients (n=08) with low disability (EDSS≤2).

Interleukin-17- and interleukin-22-secreting myelin-specific CD4(+) T cells resistant to corticoids are related with active brain lesions in multiple sclerosis patients.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is thought to be an autoimmune disorder. It is believed that immunological events in the early stages have great impact on the disease course. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the cytokine profile of myelin basic protein (MBP)-specific T cells from MS patients in the early phase of the disease and correlate it to clinical parameters, as well as to the effect of in vitro corticoid treatment.

Poor functional immune recovery in aged HIV-1-infected patients following successfully treatment with antiretroviral therapy.

Aging is now a well-recognized characteristic of the HIV-infected population and both AIDS and aging are characterized by a deficiency of the T-cell compartment. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the impact of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy in recovering functional response of T cells to both HIV-1-specific ENV peptides (ENV) and tetanus toxoid (TT), in young and aged AIDS patients who responded to ARV therapy by controlling virus replication and elevating CD4(+) T cell counts. Here, we observed that proliferative response of T-cells to either HIV-1-specific Env peptides or tetanus toxoid (TT) was significantly lower in older antiretroviral (ARV)-treated patients.