Desvendando a resposta dos eosinófilos, dos neutrófilos e dos monócitos nas parasitoses intestinais, na asma e na associação de ambas em crianças

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Medicina, Pós-graduação em Medicina Tropical, 2015.

Ocorrência da infecção por Toxoplasma gondii e avaliação da imunização em caprinos do sertão do cabugi, Rio Grande do Norte

Toxoplasmosis is one zoonosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii protozoan. Goats, amongst the production animals, are one of the species most susceptible to this parasite, being one them main involved agents in ovine and goat abortions, determining great economic losses and implications for public health, since the presence it parasite in the products of goat origin, consist in one of the main sources of infection for the man. In this study 244 blood samples in 8 farms situated in 4 cities from the Sertão do Cabugi region, Rio Grande do Norte State, northeast of Brazil and, tested by ELISA assay. The results had shown a prevalence of 47.13% for anti- T. gondii antibodies and a significant association between positivity and variable evaluated as age, locality and property. The IgG avidity assay evaluated in 115 positive samples was carried to discriminate acute and chronic infection. Twelve samples (10.4%) had presented antibodies of low avidity while 103 (89.6%) presented high avidity antibodies; indicating that most of the animals was precocious exposure to the parasite. Significant difference was verified only for the variable sex. We also evaluate the capacity of recombinant adenoviruses codifying SAG1, SAG2, SAG3 and CMV in inducing activation of specific immune response in goat. These 109 animals received 109 pfu of the AdSAG1, AdSAG2, AdSAG3, AdCMV or PBS in vaccine protocol with 3 immunizations. Serum samples of the each animal, before and after mmunization, had been submitted to the ELISA. The results demonstrate that the immunizations had induced the production of IgG antibodies specific against T. gondii proteins

Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Hunted Wild Boars (Sus scrofa): Heart Meat Juice as an Alternative Sample to Serum for the Detection of Antibodies

Toxoplasmosis is a global zoonosis caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Detection of antibodies to T. gondii in serum samples from hunted animals may represent a key step for public health protection. It is also important to assess the circulation of this parasite in wild boar population. However, in hunted animals, collection of blood is not feasible and meat juice may represent an alternative sample. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate heart meat juice of hunted wild boars as an alternative sample for post-mortem detection of antibodies to T. gondii by modified agglutination test (MAT). The agreement beyond chance between results from meat juice assessed with Cohen’s kappa coefficient revealed that the 1:20 meat juice dilution provided the highest agreement. McNemars’s test further revealed 1:10 as the most suitable meat juice dilution, as the proportion of positive paired samples (serum and meat juice from the same animal) did not differ at this dilution. All together, these results suggest a reasonable accuracy of heart meat juice to detect antibodies to T. gondii by MAT and support it as an alternative sample in post-mortem analysis in hunted wild boars.

Unraveling Sarcocystis miescheriana and Sarcocystis suihominis infections in wild boar

Sarcocystis species are worldwide spread cyst-forming protozoa that can infect wild boar but little is known about the prevalence of these parasites. In this study we assessed the prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. infections in wild boars from northeastern Portugal, for which novel PCR testing assays targeting Sarcocystis genus, S. miescheriana and S. suihominis were implemented, and risk factors potentially associated with these infections were evaluated. Samples from muscle tissue, namely diaphragm (n = 102), oesophagus (n = 96) and heart (n = 101), were collected from a total of 103 wild boar hunted between October 2011 and February 2012. Diaphragm muscle was used for the PCR detection of Sarcocystis nucleic acids since a higher proportion of samples showed the presence of cysts during histological examination. PCR assay targeting Sarcocystis genus yielded a 73.8% infection rate, which indicate a high level of exposure to these protozoan parasites among wild boars. These samples showed to be positive with the S. miescheriana-specific PCR assay and no sample was positive with the S. suihominis-specific assay, suggesting that a single species infecting wild boar is circulating in Portugal. These results were confirmed by the partial sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene amplified from selected samples from different geographic regions. Adults, young adults and female wild boars were found to be more likely infected. Hunters have an important role in the life cycle of S. miescheriana since potentially infected viscera and carcasses can be left behind promoting the protozoan dissemination to the scavenging final hosts. If hunting dogs bite and ingest infected meat they can perpetuate the life cycle of Sarcocystis spp. spreading oocysts or sporocysts in the environment.

Caractérisation d’un effecteur de phosphoinositides chez le parasite de la malaria "Plasmodium falciparum"

La malaria est une maladie infectieuse causant plus de 500 000 morts chaque année. La maladie est causée par un protozoaire de la famille Plasmodium. L’apparition de souches résistantes aux traitements actuels et l’absence de vaccin efficace rendent la découverte de nouvelles cibles thérapeutiques urgente. Le parasite possède un complexe apical, un groupement de vacuoles sécrétoires spécialisées contenant les protéines responsables de l’invasion du globule rouge. Nous nous intéressons aux mécanismes gouvernant le transport intracellulaire de ces protéines et à la biogenèse du complexe apical lors de la formation des nouveaux parasites. Plus particulièrement, nous nous intéressons au rôle des phosphoinositides dans le recrutement des protéines à la membrane de l’appareil de Golgi. Par analyse bio-informatique du génome de P. falciparum, nous avons identifié plusieurs protéines effectrices liant potentiellement les phosphoinositides. Les travaux présentés dans ce mémoire concernent Mal13P1.188, une protéine possédant un domaine Pleckstrin homology. Nous proposons que Mal13P1.188 ait un rôle dans la génération du complexe apical en recrutant les protéines le constituant à la membrane du Golgi par la liaison avec les phosphoinositides. Afin de vérifier nos hypothèses, nous avons généré une lignée de parasite dont le gène de Mal13P1.188 est fusionné avec une GFP et une hémagglutinine. À l’aide de cette lignée de parasite, nous avons pu identifier Mal13P1.188 à proximité de l’appareil de Golgi lorsque les parasites étaient sous la forme schizont du cycle érythrocytaire. D’autres expériences ont permis de confirmer que le domaine Pleckstrin homology de Mal13P1.188 était capable de reconnaître les différentes formes de phosphoinositides. Finalement, d’autres travaux devront être faits sur Mal13P1.188 afin de déterminer si elle est essentielle à la survie du parasite.

Clínica de animais de companhia

O presente relatório diz respeito ao estágio curricular realizado no Hospital Veterinário de Portimão, sob a orientação da Prof. Doutora Josefina Coucelo e com a duração de cinco meses, entre um de janeiro de 2016 e trinta e um de maio de 2016. Este relatório foi realizado no âmbito da conclusão do Mestrado Integrado em Medicina Veterinária e consiste em duas partes. A primeira é referente aos casos acompanhados no decorrer do estágio curricular, e a segunda é uma revisão bibliográfica do tema “Leishmaniose Felina”, seguida de um caso clínico acompanhado pelo autor. A Leishmaniose é uma importante zoonose, endémica em várias regiões no mundo, como o sul da Europa, afetando variados mamíferos, debilitando-os e podendo ser fatal. Causada por protozoários do género Leishmania, considera-se como uma afeção rara em gatos. Existe um número crescente de casos nesta espécie, que não é, no entanto, reservatório da infeção para humanos; Small Animal Practice Abstract: The present report describes a training in Portimãos’s Veterinary Hospital, under Doctor Josefina Coucelo’s supervision with the duration of five months, between the 1st January 2016 and the 31st May 2016. This report was written in the context of the Veterinary Medicine Integrated Master degree’s conclusion and is made up of two parts. The first refers to the clinical cases followed during the training and the second is a monography about “Feline Leishmaniasis”, followed by a case report on the subject observed by the author. Leishmaniasis is an important zoonosis endemic in many world regions as well as in southern Europe, affecting many mammals debilitating them and sometimes fatal. It is caused by protozoan of the genus Leishmania. It’s considered a rare affection in cats, however, there’s an increasing number of cases in this host species which still isn’t considered a human infection reservoir.