Study of a group of fungal and parasitic infections aiming the improvement of techniques of characterization and immune-molecular diagnosis

• Grant number: 11/13939-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2012
• End date: August 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Public Health
• Principal Investigator: Vera Lúcia Pereira Chioccola
• Grantee: Vera Lúcia Pereira Chioccola
• Host Institution: Instituto Adolfo Lutz (IAL). Coordenadoria de Controle de Doenças (CCD). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The public health laboratories have as principal activity promoting activities related on epidemiological surveillance of the population. Adolfo Lutz Institute is formed by a group of laboratories whose mission is to produce knowledge to public health; development and diffusion of scientific research; standardization of different methodologies; diagnostic and analytical methods; and employee improvement. "Centro de Parasitologia e Micologia" develops exactly this work, but specifically for studies correlated with parasites and fungi. The "Laboratorio de Biologia Molecular de Parasitas e Fungos" has made and fulfilled the same tasks, but it offers the tools of molecular and immunological methods. Opportunistic infections have been the target of our studies, mainly correlated to Aids and official programs such as the "Network of leishmaniasis in the State of Sao Paulo". The necessity a rapid and accurate diagnosis has led us to establish molecular methods for different infections caused by parasites. Studies related to the immune response of infected hosts also have been addressed. The present project aims to investigate some aspects of four important diseases in public health. In the first part will be develop a study of the co-infection Aids and the two most prevalent opportunistic neurological diseases in Brazil. Cellular and humoral immune response elicited by cerebral toxoplasmosis and cryptococcal meningitis in Aids patients before and after treatment will be studied. One part of the investigation will be conducted in experimental model and then correlated with the human infection. The profiles of antibody classes and cytokines elicited by Toxoplasma gondii infection in immunosuppressed mice will be analyzed. These studies will be conducted in order to establish the immune response involved before and after cerebral toxoplasmosis treatment. In parallel, the human investigations will be performed in Aids patients with cerebral toxoplasmosis. The results will be compared with immunocompetent patients with asymptomatic or active infection (the ocular form). In another step of this project, the same investigations will be performed in Aids patients with cryptococcal meningitis. In parallel, the molecular diagnosis of cryptococcosis in samples of cerebrospinal fluid will be introduced. This methodology will be able to genotyping of the infecting strain as well as identification of the agent and the evaluation of the reduction of fungal burden during antifungal treatment. The second part of this study will be dedicated to determine the genotypic patterns of the two Leishmania species prevalent in the State of São Paulo, L. (V.) braziliensis and L. (L.) infantum chagasi. In parallel, the possibility of controlling the treatment of patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis with the polymerase chain reaction in blood and serological tests will be investigated. (AU)

Scientific publications

(13)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

FERREIRA, A. I. C.; BRANDAO DE MATTOS, C. C.; FREDERICO, F. B.; MEIRA, C. S.; ALMEIDA, JR., G. C.; NAKASHIMA, F.; BERNARDO, C. R.; PEREIRA-CHIOCCOLA, V. L.; DE MATTOS, L. C.. Risk factors for ocular toxoplasmosis in Brazil. EPIDEMIOLOGY AND INFECTION, v. 142, n. 1, p. 142-148, JAN 2014. (11/13939-8, 09/09168-6, 12/07750-2, 09/17540-2, 12/05580-2)

GOMES, A. H. S.; MARTINES, R. B.; KANAMURA, C. T.; BARBO, M. L. P.; IGLEZIAS, S. D.; LAULETTA LINDOSO, J. A.; PEREIRA-CHIOCCOLA, V. L.. American cutaneous leishmaniasis: In situ immune response of patients with recent and late lesions. PARASITE IMMUNOLOGY, v. 39, n. 4, APR 2017. (11/13939-8)

MEIRA, CRISTINA S.; PEREIRA-CHIOCCOLA, VERA L.; VIDAL, JOSE E.; BRANDAO DE MATTOS, CINARA C.; MOTOIE, GABRIELA; COSTA-SILVA, THAIS A.; GAVA, RICARDO; FREDERICO, FABIO B.; DE MATTOS, LUIZ C.; GRP, TOXOPLASMA. Cerebral and ocular toxoplasmosis related with IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and IL-10 levels. FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY, v. 5, OCT 13 2014. (11/13939-8, 09/17540-2, 13/10050-5, 09/09168-6)

COSTA FERREIRA, ANA IARA; BRANDAO DE MATTOS, CINARA CASSIA; FREDERICO, FABIO BATISTA; BERNARDO, CASSIA RUBIA; DE ALMEIDA JUNIOR, GILDASIO CASTELO; SIQUEIRA, RUBENS CAMARGO; MEIRA-STREJEVITCH, CRISTINA SILVA; PEREIRA-CHIOCCOLA, VERA LUCIA; DE MATTOS, LUIZ CARLOS. Duffy blood group system and ocular toxoplasmosis. INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION, v. 85, NOV 2020. (09/17540-2, 15/17226-7, 12/05580-2, 09/09168-6, 11/13939-8)

NAKASHIMA, FABIANA; PARDO, VALQUIRIA SOUSA; MIOLA, MARCOS PAULO; ANTUNES MURATA, FERNANDO HENRIQUE; PADUAN, NATALIA; LONGO, STEFANI MIQUELINE; BRANDAO DE MATTOS, CINARA CASSIA; PEREIRA-CHIOCCOLA, VERA LUCIA; RICCI, OCTAVIO; DE MATTOS, LUIZ CARLOS. Serum IgG Anti-Toxoplasma gondii Antibody Concentrations Do Not Correlate Nested PCR Results in Blood Donors. FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY, v. 9, JAN 14 2020. (12/07716-9, 12/07750-2, 13/15879-8, 11/13939-8)

MARILENA DOS ANJOS MARTINS; KATE BASTOS SANTOS BRIGHENTE; TEREZINHA APARECIDA DE MATOS; JOSE ERNESTO VIDAL; DAISE DAMARIS CARNIETTO DE HIPÓLITO; VERA LUCIA PEREIRA-CHIOCCOLA. Molecular diagnosis of cryptococcal meningitis in cerebrospinal fluid: comparison of primer sets for Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii species complex. Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases, v. 19, n. 1, p. 62-67, 2015-02-00. (11/13939-8)

BRANDAO DE MATTOS, CINARA CASSIA; SIQUEIRA, RUBENS CAMARGO; FREDERICO, FABIO BATISTA; RIBEIRO FERREIRA, ISABELLE MARTINS; COSTA FERREIRA, ANA IARA; PREVIATO, MARIANA; PEREIRA-CHIOCCOLA, VERA LUCIA; DE MATTOS, LUIZ CARLOS. Toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis caused by Toxoplasma gondii strain ToxoDB#65. Acta Tropica, v. 185, p. 419-421, SEP 2018. (09/17540-2, 11/13939-8, 13/10050-5, 09/05505-8)

MEIRA, CRISTINA DA SILVA; PEREIRA-CHIOCCOLA, VERA LUCIA; VIDAL, JOSE ERNESTO; MOTOIE, GABRIELA; DA COSTA-SILVA, THAIS ALVES; GAVA, RICARDO; GROUP, TOXOPLASMA. Evolution of cytokine profile during the treatment of cerebral toxoplasmosis in HIV-infected patients. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGICAL METHODS, v. 426, p. 14-18, NOV 2015. (11/13939-8, 09/09168-6, 14/09496-1)

FERREIRA, LASARO TEIXEIRA; DE SOUZA GOMES, APARECIDA HELENA; PEREIRA-CHIOCCOLA, VERA LUCIA. GENOTYPE CHARACTERIZATION OF Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis ISOLATED FROM HUMAN AND CANINE BIOPSIES WITH AMERICAN CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS. Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, v. 57, n. 3, p. 257-262, MAY-JUN 2015. (11/13939-8)

MEIRA, CRISTINA S.; VIDAL, JOSE E.; COSTA-SILVA, THAIS A.; MOTOIE, GABRIELA; GAVA, RICARDO; HIRAMOTO, ROBERTO M.; PEREIRA-CHIOCCOLA, VERA L.. IgG4 specific to Toxoplasma gondii excretory/secretory antigens in serum and/or cerebrospinal fluid support the cerebral toxoplasmosis diagnosis in HIV-infected patients. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGICAL METHODS, v. 395, n. 1-2, p. 21-28, SEP 30 2013. (11/13939-8, 09/09168-6)

MOTOIE, GABRIELA; MELIM FERREIRA, GABRIEL EDUARDO; CUPOLILLO, ELISA; CANAVEZ, FLAVIO; PEREIRA-CHIOCCOLA, VERA LUCIA. Spatial distribution and population genetics of Leishmania infantum genotypes in Sao Paulo State, Brazil, employing multilocus microsatellite typing directly in dog infected tissues. INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION, v. 18, p. 48-59, AUG 2013. (11/13939-8)

MARTINS, MARILENA DOS ANJOS; SANTOS BRIGHENTE, KATE BASTOS; DE MATOS, TEREZINHA APARECIDA; VIDAL, JOSE ERNESTO; CARNIETTO DE HIPOLITO, DAISE DAMARIS; PEREIRA-CHIOCCOLA, VERA LUCIA. Molecular diagnosis of cryptococcal meningitis in cerebrospinal fluid: comparison of primer sets for Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii species complex. Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases, v. 19, n. 1, p. 62-67, JAN-FEB 2015. (11/13939-8)

COSTA-SILVA, THAIS ALVES; BORGES, MONAMARIS MARQUES; GALHARDO, CYNTHIA SOARES; PEREIRA-CHIOCCOLA, VERA LUCIA. Immunization with excreted/secreted proteins in AS/n mice activating cellular and humoral response against Toxoplasma gondii infection. Acta Tropica, v. 124, n. 3, p. 203-209, DEC 2012. (11/13939-8)