Correlation between parasitic load and PD1 expression on T cell from Leishmania infected dogs

• Grant number: 14/26403-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2015
• End date: March 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Valéria Marçal Felix de Lima
• Grantee: Bruna Yukie Nakaguma Sato
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária (FMVA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araçatuba. Araçatuba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a chronic and often fatal disease and it is increasing in number in the state of São Paulo, in urban areas as Araçatuba city. According to the Secretary of Epidemiological Surveillance of São Paulo State, the disease is expanding with a high mortality rate, and the Araçatuba region has the largest number of cases in the state. The canine VL is a serious public health problem because infected animals are powerful transmitters of the parasite to humans through the vector, and canine disease is more prevalent than the human disease, canine cases usually precede human cases. The dog is therefore a major target in control measures. The progression of canine disease is accompanied by failure in cellular immunity with reduced circulating lymphocytes and cytokines that suppress the function of macrophages, suppression of T cells is well documented, but the mechanisms that lead to failure in the immune response are poorly understood. The aim of this study is correlates parasite load in the spleen with the expression of molecules negative costimulatory in the spleen.