Optimization of HLA-B*27 ALLELE Genotyping by PCR-SSP.

Objectives: HLA-B27 is strongly associated with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and its presence helps to confirm AS diagnosis. Due to the high HLA polymorphism and the differentiated contribution of alleles and molecules encoded by them, HLA-B*27 allele identification is relevant in the clinical follow-up, diagnosis, and treatment of this spondyloarthropathy. Inexpensive genotyping techniques with high specificity and sensitivity are of great interest in histocompatibility laboratories.

HLA-A, -B, -DRB1, -DQA1, and -DQB1 genotyping of 641 individuals from southern Brazil.

Sixty hundred and forty-one Brazilian individuals from the north and northwestern state of Paraná, southern Brazil, were selected for the study. The HLA-A, -B, -DRB1, -DQA1, and -DQB1 genotyping were performed using rSSO and Micro SSP analysis. These genotype data are available in the Allele Frequencies Net Database under the population name "Brazil Paraná Caucasian" number "AFND3618".

Cytokine gene polymorphisms in populations from Parana, Southern Brazil.

In this study, were genotyped 22 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 13 genes that encode the pro-inflammatory (IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-1R, IL-4Rα, IL-12, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-2) and anti-inflammatory (IL-1RA, TGF-β, IL-4, IL-6 and IL-10) cytokines of 350 individuals by PCR-SSP (polymerase chain reaction - sequence specific primer). A total of 473 individuals were genotyped for IL17A and IL17F genes by PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism). The sample consisted of healthy and unrelated subjects from a mixed population from Parana state, in the South region of Brazil.

Lack of association between alopecia areata and HLA class I and II in a southeastern Brazilian population.

Background: Alopecia areata (AA) is a common disorder of unknown etiology that affects approximately 0.7% to 3.8% of patients among the general population.

Influence of cytokine and cytokine receptor gene polymorphisms on the degree of liver damage in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Hepatic fibrosis may be the result of repetitive injury to hepatocytes caused by HCV infection and the immune response to it. Cytokines regulate the inflammatory response to injury and modulate hepatic fibrogenesis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in cytokine genes may influence the cytokine expression and secretion that may contribute to hepatic fibrogenesis in HCV infection.

Evidence of HLA-DQB1 Contribution to Susceptibility of Dengue Serotype 3 in Dengue Patients in Southern Brazil.

Dengue infection (DI) transmitted by arthropod vectors is the viral disease with the highest incidence throughout the world, an estimated 300 million cases per year. In addition to environmental factors, genetic factors may also influence the manifestation of the disease; as even in endemic areas, only a small proportion of people develop the most serious form. Immune-response gene polymorphisms may be associated with the development of cases of DI.

Clinical presentation of tuberculoid leprosy in an epidermodysplasia verruciformis patient.

Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) is triggered by a variety of mechanisms that at least partly include genetic background. We present a Brazilian man with a 30-year history of flat, wart-like lesions with clinical, histopathological, and evolutive aspects consistent with papillomavirus (HPV)-associated EV. Histological analysis of the wart lesions showed epidermis with hyperkeratosis, regular acanthosis, hypergranulosis, and cells with abundant basophilic cytoplasm.

KIR genes and their human leukocyte antigen ligands in the progression to cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Natural killer (NK) cells play pivotal roles in immune responses against infection with viruses, such as hepatitis C virus (HCV), and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) are related to the activation and inhibition of NK cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility that KIR genes and their human leukocyte antigen (HLA) ligands influence progression to cirrhosis in patients infected with genotype 1 of HCV. A total of 145 Brazilian patients with confirmed chronic hepatitis C grouped from F0 to F4 according to fibrosis progression to cirrhosis were evaluated.

Association of cytokine genetic polymorphisms with the humoral immune response to recombinant vaccine against HBV in infants.

The prevention of hepatitis B by vaccination is one the most efficient tools to avoid the transmission of the virus, although a considerable variability to the anti-HBsAg antibody response has been described. Recently, polymorphisms of cytokine regulating genes have been described which seem to influence the immune response to various antigens. This article's objective was to evaluate the influence of cytokine genetic polymorphisms onto the humoral immune response to hepatitis B vaccine in infants.

[DNA extraction from coagulated human blood for application in genotyping techniques for human leukocyte antigen and immunoglobulin-like receptors].

The objective of this study was to standardize a method for extracting high-quality DNA from samples of coagulated blood. Forty-eight samples of human coagulated blood were used for DNA extraction by means of the EZ-DNA commercial kit (Biological Industries, Beit Haemek, Israel), the Neoscience column kit (One Lambda Inc., San Diego, CA, USA) and a modified salting-out method.

Association of cytokine genetic polymorphism with hepatitis B infection evolution in adult patients.

The infection by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) has different forms of evolution, ranging from self-limited infection to chronic hepatic disease. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of cytokine genetic polymorphisms in the disease evolution. The patients were divided into two groups, one with chronic HBV (n = 30), and the other with self-limited infection (n = 41).

Long-term effect of early protein malnutrition on growth curve, hematological parameters and macrophage function of rats.

To evaluate the long-term effect of mild-early maternal protein malnutrition on weight gain, hematological parameters and macrophage function in rats at adult age, we compared rats whose dams were fed diets containing either 9.5% (low protein-LPD) or 23% protein (normal-NPD) for the first 12 d of lactation. At 80 d of age, the functions of spreading, phagocytosis and killing Candida albicans were determined in resident peritoneal macrophages, whereas leukocytes and red blood cells were counted in peripheral blood.

Protection against hepatitis B by the Butang recombinant vaccine in newborn children in South Brazil.

The prevention of hepatitis B by vaccination is one of the most efficient tools to avoid the transmission of the virus. This study evaluated the immunogenicity of the national vaccine Butang in children born in Campo Mourão City, state of Paraná, Brazil, aged 7 to 12 months, by determining the anti-HBsAg antibodies levels after completion of the National Immunization Program Protocol for hepatitis B. All 70 children evaluated by the MEIA method (immune-enzymatic micro particles) showed seroconversion to the Butang vaccine.

Association of human leukocyte antigen DQ1 and dengue fever in a white Southern Brazilian population.

Dengue is an infectious disease of viral etiology transmitted by the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti, A. albopictus, and A. scutellaris.