Humoral immune responses against the malaria vaccine candidate antigen Plasmodium vivax AMA-1 and IL-4 gene polymorphisms in individuals living in an endemic area of the Brazilian Amazon.

Background: Several studies have recently demonstrated that the immune responses against malaria is governed by different factors, including the genetic components of the host. The IL-4 gene appears to be a strong candidate factor because of its role in the regulation of the Th2 response. The present study investigated the role of IL-4 polymorphisms in the development of IgG antibodies against PvAMA-1 and the IL-4 levels in individuals infected with Plasmodium vivax in a malaria endemic area in the Brazilian Amazon.

Enteropathogens detected in a daycare center, Southeastern Brazil: bacteria, virus, and parasite research.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and etiological profile of enteropathogens in children from a daycare center.

Methods: From October 2010 to February 2011 stool samples from 100 children enrolled in a government daycare center in the municipality of São José do Rio Preto, in the state of São Paulo, were collected and analyzed.

Results: A total of 246 bacteria were isolated in 99% of the fecal samples; 129 were in the diarrheal group and 117 in the non-diarrheal group.

Mixed Plasmodium falciparum infections and its clinical implications in four areas of the Brazilian Amazon region.

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence pattern of mixed-Plasmodium falciparum malaria infections in Brazil by molecular diagnosis and to address its clinically important features. DNA was extracted from 115 thick blood film P. falciparum human blood positive samples using the phenol-chloroform method, followed by a semi-nested PCR protocol with species-specific primers.