Leukotrienes are not essential for the efficacy of a heterologous vaccine against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

Leukotrienes are reported to be potent proinflammatory mediators that play a role in the development of several inflammatory diseases such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and periodontal disease. Leukotrienes have also been associated with protection against infectious diseases. However, the role of leukotrienes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is not understood. To answer this question, we studied the role of leukotrienes in the protective immune response conferred by prime-boost heterologous immunization against tuberculosis. We immunized BALB/c mice (4-11/group) with subcutaneous BCG vaccine (1 x 10(5) M. bovis BCG) (prime) followed by intramuscular DNA-HSP65 vaccine (100 µg) (boost). During the 30 days following the challenge, the animals were treated by gavage daily with MK-886 (5 mg·kg-1·day-1) to inhibit leukotriene synthesis. We showed that MK-886-treated mice were more susceptible to M. tuberculosis infection by counting the number of M. tuberculosis colony-forming units in lungs. The histopathological analysis showed an impaired influx of leukocytes to the lungs of MK-886-treated mice after infection, confirming the involvement of leukotrienes in the protective immune response against experimental tuberculosis. However, prime-boost-immunized mice treated with MK-886 remained protected after challenge with M. tuberculosis, suggesting that leukotrienes are not required for the protective effect elicited by immunization. Protection against M. tuberculosis challenge achieved by prime-boost immunization in the absence of leukotrienes was accompanied by an increase in IL-17 production in the lungs of these animals, as measured by ELISA. Therefore, these data suggest that the production of IL-17 in MK-886-treated, immunized mice could contribute to the generation of a protective immune response after infection with M. tuberculosis.

Fluorescent quantitative PCR of Mycobacterium tuberculosis for differentiating intestinal tuberculosis from Crohn's disease

Intestinal tuberculosis (ITB) and Crohn's disease (CD) are granulomatous disorders with similar clinical manifestations and pathological features that are often difficult to differentiate. This study evaluated the value of fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR) for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) in fecal samples and biopsy specimens to differentiate ITB from CD. From June 2010 to March 2013, 86 consecutive patients (38 females and 48 males, median age 31.3 years) with provisional diagnoses of ITB and CD were recruited for the study. The patients' clinical, endoscopic, and histological features were monitored until the final definite diagnoses were made. DNA was extracted from 250 mg fecal samples and biopsy tissues from each patient. The extracted DNA was amplified using FQ-PCR for the specific MTB sequence. A total of 29 ITB cases and 36 CD cases were included in the analysis. Perianal disease and longitudinal ulcers were significantly more common in the CD patients (P<0.05), whereas night sweats, ascites, and circumferential ulcers were significantly more common in the ITB patients (P<0.05). Fecal FQ-PCR for MTB was positive in 24 (82.8%) ITB patients and 3 (8.3%) CD patients. Tissue PCR was positive for MTB in 16 (55.2%) ITB patients and 2 (5.6%) CD patients. Compared with tissue FQ-PCR, fecal FQ-PCR was more sensitive (X2=5.16, P=0.02). We conclude that FQ-PCR for MTB on fecal and tissue samples is a valuable assay for differentiating ITB from CD, and fecal FQ-PCR has greater sensitivity for ITB than tissue FQ-PCR.

Efecto dosis-respuesta de fracciones de Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv sobre la expresión de las moléculas HLA-DR y B7 en monocitos humanos.

Tesis (Maestría en Ciencias con Especialidad en Inmunología) UANL

Efecto in vitro de diferentes dosis de Mycobacterium tuberculosis en la expresión de IL-1 de membrana y moléculas HLA-DR en macrófagos humanos

Tesis (Maestría en Ciencias con Especialidad en Inmunología) UANL

Análisis de la actividad de extractos crudos de Juglans regia L., Juglans mollis y Carya illinoensis contra mycobacterium tuberculosis

Tesis (Maestro en Ciencias con Especialidad en Química de Productos Naturales)

Actividad antimicobacteriana sobre Mycobacterium tuberculosis y

[Tesis] (Maestro en Ciencias con Especialidad en Microbiología) U.A.N.L.

Efecto de 150 subcultivos continuos sobre la composición genética y de virulencia de cepas de mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Tesis (Maestría en Ciencias con Acentuación en Microbiología) UANL, 2011.

Aislamiento y caracterización de compuestos derivados de plantas de la familia juglandaceae con efecto antimicrobiano sobre mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Tesis (Maestría en Ciencias con Acentuación en Química de productos Naturales) UANL, 2011.

Identificación de genes Vinculados con la Condición de resistencia a Fármacos de Primera Línea en Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Tesis (Maestría en Ciencias con Acentuación en Microbiología) UANL, 2011.

Análisis de la resupuesta humoral contra la proteína Hspx de mycobacterium tuberculosis como biomarcador de tuberculosis latente.

Tesis (Maestría en Ciencias con Acentuación en Inmunobiología) UANL, 2012.

Aportaciones al mecanismo de acción del ácido mesodihidroguaiarético sobre mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv.

Tesis (Maestría en Ciencias con Orientación en Farmacia) UANL, 2013.

Secuenciación del genoma de una clona de mycobacterium tuberculosis resistente a todos los medicamentos antituberculosis de primera línea.

Tesis (Maestría en Ciencias con orientación en Biología Molecular e Ingeniería Genética) UANL, 2014.

Caracterización genética y evaluación de los genes de fosfolipasa C de Mycobacterium tuberculosis como factor de virulencia en una línea de macrófagos

Tesis ( Doctorado en Ciencias con Especialidad en Microbiología) UANL

Análisis genético y de virulencia de cepas de Mycobacterium tuberculosis sometidas a subcultivo

Tesis (Doctor en Ciencias con especialidad en Microbiología) U.A.N.L. Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, 2007.

Análisis de los perfiles de expresión genética de cepas multifármacorresistentes de mycobacterium tuberculosis expuestas a nuevos compuestos contra tuberculosis pulmonar.

Tesis (Doctorado en Ciencias con Especialidad en Microbiología) UANL, 2012.