Estudo in vitro do efeito da interferência por RNA (RNAi) na replicação do vírus da hepatite C

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Inibição do vírus da hepatite C utilizando siRNAs direcionados para o genoma viral e proteínas celulares Hsps

Pós-graduação em Microbiologia - IBILCE

Peginterferon plus ribavirin and sustained virological response rate in HCV-related advanced fibrosis: a real life study

Background: Tolerance and response to antiviral HCV treatment is poor in advanced fibrosis. The aim of this study was to assess SVR rate and its predictive factors in HCV advanced fibrosis patients treated in real life with full dose PEG-IFN plus RBV and to evaluate the adverse events related to treatment. Methods: A multicentric, retrospective study was conducted at six university hospitals. METAVIR F3 and F4 HCV monoinfected patients who were treated with PEG-IFN and RBV had their data analyzed. A stepwise logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the variables independently related to SVR. Adverse events were recorded during treatment. Results: 308 patients were included, 75% genotype 1 and 23% genotype 3. METAVIR F3 was present in 39% and F4 in 61% of patients. The median Child Pugh score for F4 patients was 5 (5–9). The global SVR rate was 34%, 11% were relapsers and 55% were nonresponders. SVR rates were similar between patients treated with PEG-IFN alfa 2a or alfa 2b (p = 0.24). SVR rates according to Child–Pugh score were 26% (Child A) and 18% (Child B). The independent factors related to SVR in F4 patients were genotype 3, RVR and fewer Child Pugh score points. Treatment interruption occurred in 31% patients and death occurred in 1.9%, all with liver cirrhosis. Conclusion: Treatment of HCV in patients with advanced fibrosis should not be postponed. However, a very careful evaluation of cirrhotic patients must be performed before treatment is indicated and careful monitoring is required during treatment.

Association between phase angle, anthropometric measurements, and lipid profile in HCV-infected patients

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between phase angle, anthropometric measurements, and lipid profile in patients chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus. METHODS: A total of 160 consecutive patients chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus and who received treatment at the hepatitis C outpatient unit of our hospital from April 2010 to May 2011 were prospectively evaluated. Bioelectrical impedance analysis, anthropometric measurements, and serum lipid profile analysis were performed. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients were excluded. A total of 135 patients with a mean age of 49.8±11.4 years were studied. Among these patients, 60% were male. The phase angle and BMI means were 6.5±0.8° and 26.5±4.8 kg/m2, respectively. Regarding anthropometric variables, mid-arm circumference, mid-arm muscle circumference, and arm muscle area had a positive correlation with phase angle. In contrast, when analyzing the lipid profile, only HDL was inversely correlated with phase angle. However, in multiple regression models adjusted for age and gender, only mid-arm circumference (p = 0.005), mid-arm muscle circumference (p = 0.003), and arm muscle circumference (p = 0.001) were associated with phase angle in hepatitis C virus-infected patients. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, phase angle is positively correlated with anthropometric measures in our study. However, there is no association between phase angle and lipid profile in these patients. Our results suggest that phase angle is related to lean body mass in patients chronically infected with hepatitis C virus.

Análise de parâmetros espermáticos e fertilidade de ratos Wistar expostos ao interferon alfa

Pós-graduação em Biologia Geral e Aplicada - IBB

Avaliação in vitro do efeito da cafeína na inibição do vírus da Hepatite C

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Avaliação do desempenho de colírio usando soro alogênico e fatores de crescimento derivados de plaquetas em cultura de células do anel córneo-escleral

Pós-graduação em Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (Biotecnologia Médica) - FMB

Perfil imunofenotípico e nível de citocinas plásmáticas em portadores de hepatite C crônica com diferentes graus de comprometimento hepático

Pós-graduação em Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (Biotecnologia Médica) - FMB

Imunossensores à base de filmes nanoestruturados de fibroína da seda - peptídeo antigênico NS5A-1-vanadato de ítrio: európio para detecção de Hepatite C

Pós-graduação em Química - IQ

Interação da proteina e2 do vírus da hepatite c com o receptor de ldl e cd81 presentes em células endoteliais e ativação da resposta inflamatória

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Prevalence of Oral Lesions in Hospitalized Patients with Infectious Diseases in Northern Brazil

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of oral lesions in infectious-contagious diseases patients being treated in the University Hospital of the Federal University of Para, northern Brazil. One hundred seven patients with infectious diseases were clinically investigated for oral lesions at the University Hospital of Para, northern Brazil. From total sample, most patients were men (65.7%) with a mean age of 45.4 years. About prevalence of systemic diseases, tuberculosis was the most frequent illness, followed by AIDS, hepatitis types B and C, leishmaniasis, and meningitis. Analyzing oral manifestations, periodontal diseases and candidiasis were the most prevalent diseases in both genders, followed by recurrent aphthous ulcers, saburral tongue, simplex herpes, and squamous cell carcinoma. Of all 107 patients, only 10 males and 6 females did not present any oral manifestation. There was no statistical difference between genders with any systemic condition (P > 0.05). The great prevalence of oral manifestations in hospitalized patients with systemic disorder emphasizes the need of integral dental care in this context, aiming at a multidisciplinary approach of patients. Therefore, presence of some oral conditions, such as candidiasis, should be an alert to different systemic conditions, once in assistance with physicians; dentists can influence the early diagnosis and treatment.

Estudo da inflamação e da autoimunidade na doença hepática gordurosa não alcoólica

Pós-graduação em Fisiopatologia em Clínica Médica - FMB

Perfil de mutações de resistência e polimorfismos genéticos em variantes do vírus da hepatite B circulantes na região de Botucatu

Pós-graduação em Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (Biotecnologia Médica) - FMB

Next-generation sequencing reveals large connected networks of intra-host HCV variants

Background: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) allows for sampling numerous viral variants from infected patients. This provides a novel opportunity to represent and study the mutational landscape of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) within a single host.Results: Intra-host variants of the HCV E1/E2 region were extensively sampled from 58 chronically infected patients. After NGS error correction, the average number of reads and variants obtained from each sample were 3202 and 464, respectively. The distance between each pair of variants was calculated and networks were created for each patient, where each node is a variant and two nodes are connected by a link if the nucleotide distance between them is 1. The work focused on large components having > 5% of all reads, which in average account for 93.7% of all reads found in a patient. The distance between any two variants calculated over the component correlated strongly with nucleotide distances (r = 0.9499; p = 0.0001), a better correlation than the one obtained with Neighbour-Joining trees (r = 0.7624; p = 0.0001). In each patient, components were well separated, with the average distance between (6.53%) being 10 times greater than within each component (0.68%). The ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous changes was calculated and some patients (6.9%) showed a mixture of networks under strong negative and positive selection. All components were robust to in silico stochastic sampling; even after randomly removing 85% of all reads, the largest connected component in the new subsample still involved 82.4% of remaining nodes. In vitro sampling showed that 93.02% of components present in the original sample were also found in experimental replicas, with 81.6% of reads found in both. When syringe-sharing transmission events were simulated, 91.2% of all simulated transmission events seeded all components present in the source.Conclusions: Most intra-host variants are organized into distinct single-mutation components that are: well separated from each other, represent genetic distances between viral variants, robust to sampling, reproducible and likely seeded during transmission events. Facilitated by NGS, large components offer a novel evolutionary framework for genetic analysis of intra-host viral populations and understanding transmission, immune escape and drug resistance.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its associated risk factors in Brazilian postmenopausal women

Objective To evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in postmenopausal women.Methods A cross-sectional study was carried involving 188 women (age >= 45 years and amenorrhea >= 12 months) attending the outpatient unit in south-eastern Brazil. Exclusion criteria were liver disease (hepatitis B and C, cholestatic disease, liver insufficiency), use of drugs that affect liver metabolism; alcoholics; AIDS or cancer history; and morbid obesity. NAFLD was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasound. Clinical, anthropometric (body mass index, waist circumference) and biochemical variables were measured.Results Of the 188 women, 73 (38.8%) had NAFLD. Blood pressure, waist circumference, body mass index, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose were significantly higher in NAFLD patients when compared with women without NAFLD (control group) (p < 0.05). HOMA-IR values indicated insulin resistance only in the NAFLD group (6.1 +/- 4.6 vs. 2.4 +/- 1.4 in control group, p < 0.05). Metabolic syndrome was detected in 93.1% of the women affected by NAFLD, and 46.1% of the control group (p < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, adjusted for age and weight, the variables considered at risk for the development of NAFLD, were: high waist circumference (odds ratio (OR) 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.13), insulin resistance (OR 3.81, 95% CI 2.01-7.13), and presence of metabolic syndrome (OR 8.68, 95% CI 3.3-24.1).Conclusion NAFLD showed a high prevalence among postmenopausal women. The presence of metabolic syndrome, abdominal obesity and IR were indicators of risk for the development of NAFLD.