Investigation of pro-inflammatory factors and tight junction proteins expression in the choroid plexus of dogs with visceral leishmaniasis

• Grant number: 14/01202-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: May 01, 2014
• End date: August 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Gisele Fabrino Machado
• Grantee: José Eduardo dos Santos Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária (FMVA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araçatuba. Araçatuba , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 15/13865-5 - Investigation of the imune response during canine leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum: Role of Toll-like receptors in ex vivo macrophages and in the choroid plexi, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a disease with a large range of clinical manifestations, including asymptomatic, subclinical and generalized disorders. Chronically infected dogs may present with neurological disorders, however the pathogenesis of the cerebral form of VL is still to be elucidated. There are evidences of brain inflammation in dogs with VL, characterized mainly by choroiditis and meningitis, including T lymphocytes, glial cells activation, degenerative alterations in neurons, and matrix metalloproteinases enzymes. The choroid plexus forms an important interface between the CSF and the peripheral vascular system, and it is a potential structure to allow the passage of inflammatory cells towards the CNS, in addition to act as a source of inflammatory mediators in several diseases. Following previous research projects which aimed to describe and quantify the brain inflammatory lesions and to investigate the mechanisms involved in its occurrence, we aim to evaluate the gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines as well as the integrity of the tight junction proteins of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier in the choroid plexus of dogs naturally infected with Leishmania infantum.

Scientific publications

(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)

GRANO, FERNANDA GRECCO; DOS SANTOS SILVA, JOSE EDUARDO; DE MELO, GUILHERME DIAS; MACHADO, GISELE FABRINO. Leishmania hide-and-seek: Parasite amastigotes in the choroid plexus of a dog with neurological signs in an endemic municipality in Brazil. VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY- REGIONAL STUDIES AND REPORTS, v. 17, p. 4-pg., 2019-08-01. (16/02384-9, 14/01202-9, 13/25498-1)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

SILVA, José Eduardo dos Santos. Investigation of pro-inflammatory factors in choroid plexus of dogs with visceral leishmaniosis. 2017. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária. Araçatuba Araçatuba.