The immunomodulatory activity of ArtinM on the course of Cryptococcus gattii infection

• Grant number: 16/23112-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2017
• End date: August 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology - Applied Immunology
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Maria Cristina Roque Antunes Barreira
• Grantee: Patrícia Kellen Martins Oliveira Brito
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Fungal infections, due commit millions of lives each year, mainly immunocompromised individuals, nevertheless are neglected for public health policies. Drugs antifungal are main treatment used against these infections. However, most toxic agents used to treat fungal infections exhibit also side effects on patient related to similarity in cellular organization. In this context, studies have been evaluating the establishment of immunotherapies favoring an effector antifungal response, which is essential the balance between T helper (Th) cells 1 and 2. Thus, the development of novel immunotherapeutic approaches against fungal infections has been studied. In this scenario, the use of immunomodulatory agents, associated or not with antifungal therapies currently available for the treatment of systemic fungal infections, shows great interest. We will investigate whether the immunomodulatory activity of ArtinM, associated with the induction of Th1immune response, could favor the resolution of Cryptococcus gattii infection. For this, two strategies will be considered: (i) prophylactic or therapeutic administration protocol of ArtinM, before or after the infection by C. gattii; (ii) the association of ArtinM administration with antifungal drugs, after the infection by C. gattii. The use of ArtinM is related to its immunomodulatory activity reported in the resolution of infections by various intracellular pathogens, as in the experimental paracoccidioidomycosis. Our proposal intends to explore the association or not of immunotherapy agents, as ArtinM, with antifungal drugs to treat a disease caused by a fungus of global distribution. We reinforced the initial proposal through preliminary results, which the ArtinM administration promoted a significant decrease of fungal burden in the lungs of mice infected with C. gattii. Our aim will be analyzed with the following procedures: serum levels of cytokines and chemokines, fungal burden in the lungs, quantification of reactive species of oxygen and nitrogen in the lung, cellular phenotypic in lung, levels of expression of factors inductors of cell differentiation, expression of factors of C. gattii virulence in serum and lung, and levels of GXM in serum after infection with C. gattii. (AU)

Scientific publications

(5)

(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)

DA SILVA, THIAGO APARECIDO; MARTINS OLIVEIRA-BRITO, PATRICIA KELLEN; GONCALVES, THIAGO ELEUTERIO; VENDRUSCOLO, PATRICIA EDIVANIA; ROQUE-BARREIRA, MARIA CRISTINA. ArtinM Mediates Murine T Cell Activation and Induces Cell Death in Jurkat Human Leukemic T Cells. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES, v. 18, n. 7, JUL 2017. (14/16003-1, 16/23112-7, 16/10446-4, 16/04877-2, 06/60642-2, 12/09611-0, 13/04088-0)

MARTINS OLIVEIRA-BRITO, PATRICIA KELLEN; REZENDE, CAROLINE PATINI; ALMEIDA, FAUSTO; ROQUE-BARREIRA, MARIA CRISTINA; DA SILVA, THIAGO APARECIDO. iNOS/Arginase-1 expression in the pulmonary tissue over time during Cryptococcus gattii infection. Innate Immunity, v. 26, n. 2, AUG 2019. (16/03322-7, 16/23112-7, 16/04877-2, 16/10446-4, 16/25167-3)

MARTINS OLIVEIRA BRITO, PATRICIA KELLEN; GONCALVES, THIAGO ELEUTERIO; FERNANDES, FABRICIO FREITAS; MIGUEL, CAMILA BOTELHO; RODRIGUES, WELLINGTON FRANCISCO; LAZO CHICA, JAVIER EMILIO; ROQUE-BARREIRA, MARIA CRISTINA; DA SILVA, THIAGO APARECIDO. Systemic effects in naive mice injected with immunomodulatory lectin ArtinM. PLoS One, v. 12, n. 10, OCT 30 2017. (14/16003-1, 16/23112-7, 16/10446-4, 16/04877-2, 12/09611-0, 13/04088-0)

DA SILVA, THIAGO APARECIDO; MARTINS OLIVEIRA-BRITO, PATRICIA KELLEN; GONCALVES, THIAGO ELEUTERIO; VENDRUSCOLO, PATRICIA EDIVANIA; ROQUE-BARREIRA, MARIA CRISTINA. ArtinM Mediates Murine T Cell Activation and Induces Cell Death in Jurkat Human Leukemic T Cells. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES, v. 18, n. 7, p. 21-pg., 2017-07-01. (16/23112-7, 16/10446-4, 06/60642-2, 13/04088-0, 12/09611-0, 14/16003-1, 16/04877-2)

MARTINS OLIVEIRA-BRITO, PATRICIA KELLEN; ROQUE-BARREIRA, MARIA CRISTINA; DA SILVA, THIAGO APARECIDO. The Response of IL-17-Producing B Cells to ArtinM Is Independent of Its Interaction with TLR2 and CD14. Molecules, v. 23, n. 9, SEP 2018. (16/23112-7, 16/04877-2, 16/10446-4)

Academic Publications

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

BRITO, Patrícia Kellen Martins Oliveira. The immunomodulatory activity of ArtinM on the course of Cryptococcus gattii infection. 2018. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC) Ribeirão Preto.