Levels of substitution of inorganic mineral to amino acids complexed minerals on old laying hens.

This study was conducted with the objective of evaluating the impact of replacing inorganic mineral sources (IM) with amino acid complexed minerals (AACM) in laying hens' diets on performance, egg quality, bone, and intestinal health. The effects of 4 different diets with varying levels of AACM substitution were evaluated on 400 Lohmann White hens aged 78-98 weeks. The control diet contained only IM sources at levels of 60, 60, 7, 40, 0.

Evaluating the effect of optimal zinc amino-acid complex supplementation in laying pullets on performance and zinc retention.

This study investigated the optimal dietary intake of zinc amino acid complex (Zn-AAC) for white-layer pullets, focusing on their productive performance, biochemical profile, organ biometry, and body zinc retention. The study involved 360 Dekalb White pullets (average weight: 433 ± 4.42 g) aged from 6 to 16 weeks and distributed into 6 treatments with 6 replications each.

Complexed amino acid minerals vs. bis-glycinate chelated minerals: Impact on the performance of old laying hens.

The present study was to evaluate the effect of trace minerals (Zn, Mn, and Cu) from complexed amino acid minerals (ZMCAA) and bis-glycinate chelated minerals (ZMCGly) in laying hen diets on performance, internal and external egg quality, yolk mineral deposition, intestinal morphometry, and bone characteristics. From 78 to 98 weeks of age, 400 White LSL-Lite strain laying hens were distributed in a randomized design with 4 treatments with 10 replicates per treatment. Treatments were distributed in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement using either Zn, Mn, and Cu of ZMCAA or ZMCGly source at 2 levels: low (20, 20, and 3.

Merozoites Obtained through a Simpler Method Do Not Survive in Classically Activated Macrophages.

Malaria is caused by apicomplexan parasites of the genus. is an excellent animal model for the study of human malaria caused by . Merozoites invade erythrocytes but are also found in other host cells including macrophages from the spleen and liver.

Evaluation of Molecular Methods to Identify Chagas Disease and Leishmaniasis in Blood Donation Candidates in Two Brazilian Centers.

In Brazil, blood donation is regulated by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, and all States follow the same protocol for clinical and laboratory screening. Brazil is an endemic country for Chagas disease (CD), caused by cruzi, and for leishmaniasis, caused by a species of spp. Screening for leishmaniosis is not routinely performed by blood banks.

Parasite load evaluation by qPCR and blood culture in Chagas disease and HIV co-infected patients under antiretroviral therapy.

Chagas disease also known as American trypanosomiasis, is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and transmitted by triatominae-contaminated feces. It is considered a neglected tropical disease that affects 6 to 7 million people worldwide. The reactivation of Chagas disease occurs when the chronically infected hosts are not able to control T.

Mature Naive B Cells Regulate the Outcome of Murine Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease in an IL-10-Independent Manner.

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is the main complication of bone marrow transplantation (BMT). CD4 T lymphocytes are the main effector cells for disease development, but other cell types can determine disease outcome through cytokine production and antigen presentation. B cells are abundant in BMT products and are involved in chronic GVHD immunopathogenesis.

Apoptotic mimicry as a strategy for the establishment of parasitic infections: parasite- and host-derived phosphatidylserine as key molecule.

The establishment of parasitic infection is dependent on the development of efficient strategies to evade the host defense mechanisms. Phosphatidylserine (PS) molecules are pivotal for apoptotic cell recognition and clearance by professional phagocytes. Moreover, PS receptors are able to trigger anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive responses by phagocytes, either by coupled enzymes or through the induction of regulatory cytokine secretion.

Bronchodilator test in extreme old age: Adverse effects of short-acting beta-2 adrenergic agonists with clinical repercussion and bronchodilator response.

Objective: To evaluate chronological age as a limiting factor to perform the bronchodilator test, determine significant adverse effects of short-acting beta 2 agonists with clinical repercussions, and assess bronchodilator response in extreme-old-age patients who undergo the spirometry test.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional and retrospective study. The sample was extracted from the database (spirometer and respiratory questionnaire) of a pulmonary function service.

Evaluating the extremely elderly at a pulmonary function clinic for the diagnosis of respiratory disease: frequency and technical quality of spirometry.

Objective: To determine the frequency of spirometry in elderly people, by age group, at a pulmonary function clinic, to assess the quality of spirometry in the extremely elderly, and to determine whether chronological age influences the quality of spirometry.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional retrospective study evaluating information (spirometry findings and respiratory questionnaire results) obtained from the database of a pulmonary function clinic in the city of Aracaju, Brazil, for the period from January of 2012 to April of 2017. In the sample as a whole, we determined the total number of spirometry tests performed, and the frequency of the tests in individuals ≥ 60 years of age, ≥ 65 years of age, and by decade of age, from age 60 onward.

CD4 T Cell-Dependent Macrophage Activation Modulates Sustained PS Exposure on Intracellular Amastigotes of .

amastigotes can make use of surface-exposed phosphatidylserine (PS) molecules to promote infection and non-classical activation of macrophages (MΦ), leading to uncontrolled intracellular proliferation of the parasites. This mechanism was quoted as apoptotic mimicry. Moreover, the amount of PS molecules exposed on the surface of amastigotes correlates with the susceptibility of the host.

Leishmaniasis and glycosaminoglycans: a future therapeutic strategy?

Leishmania spp. depend on effective macrophage infection to establish and develop in mammalian hosts. Both metacyclic promastigotes and amastigotes are able to infect host cells, and thus they rely on several ligands that, when recognized by macrophage receptors, mediate parasite uptake.

Phosphatidylserine is a global immunosuppressive signal in efferocytosis, infectious disease, and cancer.

Apoptosis is an evolutionarily conserved and tightly regulated cell death modality. It serves important roles in physiology by sculpting complex tissues during embryogenesis and by removing effete cells that have reached advanced age or whose genomes have been irreparably damaged. Apoptosis culminates in the rapid and decisive removal of cell corpses by efferocytosis, a term used to distinguish the engulfment of apoptotic cells from other phagocytic processes.

Osteopontin splice variants expression is involved on docetaxel resistance in PC3 prostate cancer cells.

Osteopontin (OPN) is a phosphoprotein that activates several aspects of tumor progression. Alternative splicing of the OPN primary transcript generates three splicing isoforms, OPNa, OPNb and OPNc. In this report, we investigated some cellular mechanisms by which OPN splice variants could mediate PC3 prostate cancer (PCa) cell survival and growth in response to docetaxel (DXT)-induced cell death.

Disease severity and mortality can be independently regulated in a mouse model of experimental graft versus host disease.

Graft versus host disease (GVHD) is the major limitation of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) presenting high mortality and morbidity rates. However, the exact cause of death is not completely understood and does not correlate with specific clinical and histological parameters of disease. Here we show, by using a semi-allogeneic mouse model of GVHD, that mortality and morbidity can be experimentally separated.

Phosphatidylserine exposure on the surface of Leishmania amazonensis amastigotes modulates in vivo infection and dendritic cell function.

Leishmania amazonensis parasites can cause diverse forms of leishmaniasis in humans and persistent lesions in most inbred strains of mice. In both cases, the infection is characterized by a marked immunosuppression of the host. We previously showed that amastigote forms of the parasite make use of surface-exposed phosphatidylserine (PS) molecules to infect host cells and promote alternative macrophage activation, leading to uncontrolled intracellular proliferation of the parasites.

Apoptosis and apoptotic mimicry in Leishmania: an evolutionary perspective.

Apoptotic death and apoptotic mimicry are defined respectively as a non-accidental death and as the mimicking of an apoptotic-cell phenotype, usually by phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure. In the case of the murine infection by Leishmania spp, apoptotic death has been described in promastigotes and apoptotic mimicry in amastigotes. In both situations they are important events of the experimental murine infection by this parasite.

Exposure of phosphatidylserine on Leishmania amazonensis isolates is associated with diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis and parasite infectivity.

Diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis (DCL) is a rare clinical manifestation of leishmaniasis, characterized by an inefficient parasite-specific cellular response and heavily parasitized macrophages. In Brazil, Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis is the main species involved in DCL cases. In the experimental model, recognition of phosphatidylserine (PS) molecules exposed on the surface of amastigotes forms of L.

Blockade of irradiation-induced autophagosome formation impairs proliferation but does not enhance cell death in HCT-116 human colorectal carcinoma cells.

This work was undertaken to gain further information on the molecular mechanisms underlying autophagosome formation and its relation with tumor cell survival in response to radiation in colon cancer. A human colon cancer cell line, HCT-116, was examined with respect to cell survival after blockade of irradiation-induced autophagosome formation by pharmacological interference. Autophagosome formation was confirmed using a kinetic study with incorporated bovine serum albumin gold-conjugate (BSA-Au) analyzed by electron microscopy and an autophagosome-associated LC3B antibody measured by immunofluorescence and Western blotting.

Serological profiles and evaluation of parasitaemia by PCR and blood culture in individuals chronically infected by Trypanosoma cruzi treated with benzonidazole.

Objective: To evaluate the serological and parasitological status of patients with chronic Chagas disease (CD) after chemotherapy with benzonidazole.

Methods: Retrospective study of patients treated with benzonidazole (5 mg/kg/day for 60 days) between 1980 and 2010. Twenty-nine patients who had CD confirmed by two reagent immunological tests and/or one positive xenodiagnosis before treatment were included.

Parenchymal expression of CD40 exacerbates adenovirus-induced hepatitis in mice.

Unlabelled: The healthy adult human liver expresses low levels of major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II) and undetectable levels of immune costimulatory molecules. However, high levels of MHC II, CD40, and B7 family molecules are expressed in the activated Kupffer cells and hepatocytes of patients with viral hepatitis. The precise role of these molecules in viral clearance and immune-mediated liver injury is not well understood.