Study of modulation of THP-1 macrophages after interaction with extracellular vesicles of Sporothrix brasiliensis yeast cells M1168, isolated from neurosporothrichosis

• Grant number: 23/07365-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): August 01, 2023
• Effective date (End): July 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Karen Spadari Ferreira
• Grantee: Luzia Zapata Valdez
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Sporotrichosis is a subcutaneous mycosis that can infect men and animals. Because it has zoonotic transmission in most cases and is endemic in some regions of Brazil, it is a significant public health problem, for which there is still no efficient mechanism to prevent the spread and transmission of the disease. Different pathogenic species cause this mycosis, but in Brazil, Sporothrix brasiliensis is considered the main and most pathogenic species. The immune response against these species is still not fully elucidated. Still, we know that extracellular vesicles (EVs) purified from the fungus carry important components that could help yeast escape the host's immune response. However, the role of some proteins present in these EVs, such as HOG-1, which we know is important for osmotic and oxidative regulation, is still unclear. Thus, the main objective of this project is to analyze the modulation of macrophages derived from the THP-1 strain against Sporothrix brasiliensis yeasts (strain M1168), modified or not in their production of HOG-1, as well as to analyze their EVs in the interaction with macrophages. The modulation of cells in M1 or M2 is essential for us to understand the importance of HOG-1 in the immune response against yeasts of the virulent and isolated strain of neuro sporotrichosis, M1168.