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| Author(s): |
Josiane Betim de Assis
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB/SDI) |
| Defense date: | 2018-09-11 |
| Examining board members: |
Anderson de Sá Nunes;
Maisa Splendore Della Casa;
Alexandre de Castro Keller;
Alexandre Alarcon Steiner
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| Advisor: | Anderson de Sá Nunes; Denise Morais da Fonseca |
| Abstract | |
Hepatitis is an inflammatory condition of the liver that can be self-limiting or progress to fibrosis, cirrhosis or cancer. One of the most severe consequences associated with the hepatic damage is the acute liver failure (also known as fulminant hepatic failure). being viral infections, autoimmunity and use of medications the most common etiologies. Knowing the biological activities of the compounds present in the saliva of hematophagous insects, and based on previous results from our group, we believe that the salivary components of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes can be employed in the prevention and/or treatment of inflammatory diseases. Thus, to evaluate the therapeutic potential of A. aegypti mosquito saliva in acute liver failure, we employed a well-established model for the study of autoimmune hepatitis, acute experimental hepatitis induced by concanavalin A (Con A), and a model of hepatotoxicity induced by acetaminophen (APAP) commonly employed to study drug-induced liver injury. Our results demonstrate that the exposure of animals to A. aegypti mosquito bites reduces alanine aminotransferase (ALT) enzyme levels in both models and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in the acute experimental hepatitis induced by Con A. In addition, the treatment with saliva was able to reduce the levels of the serum cytokines IFN-&gamma, IL-6 and IL-2, as well as the expression of hepatic IFN-&gamma in the in the model of acute experimental hepatitis induced by ConA as well as the serum cytokines TNF-, IL-6, IL-1, and IL-10 in the APAP-induced toxic hepatitis model. Animals injected with Con A presented an increase in the frequencies of NK cells and macrophages populations, and the exposure to the bites reduced this changes to levels close to that found in the control group. Likewise, mosquito exposure also reduced the populations of dendritic cells, macrophages and NKT cells that were increased in the group of animals injected with APAP. These data demonstrate that A. aegypti saliva is able to protect animals from the deleterious effects of the evaluated hepatitis, due to its ability to modulate the inflammatory response of the experimental animals. Future studies might characterize the molecules responsible for this biological activity, highlighting their potential use as an option for prevention and/or treatment of these conditions. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 16/11523-2 - Immunomodulation of acute experimental hepatitis by the Aedes aegypti mosquito saliva |
| Grantee: | Josiane Betim de Assis |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Master |