Increase in the expression of CD4 + CD25+ lymphocytic T cells in the indeterminate clinical form of human Chagas disease after stimulation with recombinant antigens of Trypanosoma cruzi.

Purpose: Regulatory T cells are involved in the clinical course of chronic Chagas disease, possibly because they exercise a control in the patient's inflammatory response to Trypanosoma cruzi. This study analyzed the levels of CD4 + CD25+ T cells in chronic Chagas disease patients after in vitro stimulation of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells with CRA (Cytoplasmic Repetitive Antigen) or FRA (Flagellar Repetitive Antigen) T. cruzi antigens.

Evaluation of CD4+CD25+ T lymphocyte response time kinetics in patients with chronic Chagas disease after in vitro stimulation with recombinant Trypanosoma cruzi antigens.

Introduction: CD4+CD25+ T lymphocytes have been implicated in the regulation of host inflammatory response against Trypanosoma cruzi, and may be involved in the clinical course of the disease.

Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with chronic Chagas disease were cultured in the presence of T. cruzi recombinant antigens and assayed for lymphocytes at distinct time points.

IL-10 and IFN-γ gene expression in chronic Chagas disease patients after in vitro stimulation with recombinant antigens of Trypanosoma cruzi.

Along with several other aspects of Chagas disease, the mechanisms responsible for the different clinical outcomes observed in chronic infected individuals have not yet been clarified. It is believed that the host immune response to the parasite plays an important role in the development of the pathology. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between IL-10 and IFN-γ gene expression profile, after in vitro stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with Trypanosoma cruzi recombinant antigens CRA (cytoplasmatic repetitive antigen) and FRA (flagellar repetitive antigen), and the clinical forms of chronic Chagas disease.

Chagas disease in the State of Pernambuco, Brazil: analysis of admissions and mortality time series.

Introduction: A time series study of admissions, deaths and acute cases was conducted in order to evaluate the context of Chagas disease in Pernambuco.

Methods: Data reported to the Information Technology Department of the Brazilian National Health Service between 1980 and 2008 was collected for regions and Federal Units of Brazil; and microregions and municipalities of Pernambuco. Rates (per 100,000 inhabitants) of hospitalization, mortality and acute cases were calculated using a national hospital database (SIH), a national mortality database (SIM) and the national Information System for Notifiable Diseases (SINAN), respectively.

[Viability, taxonomic confirmation and enzymatic detection of Acremonium species preserved under mineral oil in the URM Culture Collection].

Hydrolytic enzymes secreted by fungi play an important role in the pathogenesis of infection. With the aim of evaluating the enzymatic activity, 31 isolates of Acremonium stored in the University of Recife Mycology (URM) Culture Collection were tested. Culture fragments were transferred to glycoside broth for reactivation and further growth in potato dextrose agar medium in order to investigate viability and purity and to confirm the taxonomy through observing the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics.