ORCID Profile
0000-0002-3080-8604
Current Organisation
Universidade Federal de Sergipe
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Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 27-01-2016
Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
Date: 17-02-2022
DOI: 10.1128/IAI.00595-21
Abstract: Ascariasis is a neglected tropical disease that is widespread in the world and has important socioeconomic impacts. The presence of various stages of worm development in the pulmonary and intestinal mucosae induces a humoral and cellular immune response. However, although there is much evidence of the protective role of mucosal immunity against various pathogens, including helminths, there is still a gap in the knowledge about the immune response and the mechanisms of action that are involved in protection against diseases, especially in the initial phase of ascariasis. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the kinetic aspects of the immune parasitological parameters in intestinal and pulmonary mucosae in male mice with early ascariasis.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 09-02-2012
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-04-2009
DOI: 10.1096/FJ.09-131433
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 16-11-2021
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PPAT.1010067
Abstract: Human ascariasis is the most prevalent but neglected tropical disease in the world, affecting approximately 450 million people. The initial phase of Ascaris infection is marked by larval migration from the host’s organs, causing mechanical injuries followed by an intense local inflammatory response, which is characterized mainly by neutrophil and eosinophil infiltration, especially in the lungs. During the pulmonary phase, the lesions induced by larval migration and excessive immune responses contribute to tissue remodeling marked by fibrosis and lung dysfunction. In this study, we investigated the relationship between SIgA levels and eosinophils. We found that TLR2 and TLR4 signaling induces eosinophils and promotes SIgA production during Ascaris suum infection. Therefore, control of parasite burden during the pulmonary phase of ascariasis involves eosinophil influx and subsequent promotion of SIgA levels. In addition, we also demonstrate that eosinophils also participate in the process of tissue remodeling after lung injury caused by larval migration, contributing to pulmonary fibrosis and dysfunction in re-infected mice. In conclusion, we postulate that eosinophils play a central role in mediating host innate and humoral immune responses by controlling parasite burden, tissue inflammation, and remodeling during Ascaris suum infection. Furthermore, we suggest that the use of probiotics can induce eosinophilia and SIgA production and contribute to controlling parasite burden and morbidity of helminthic diseases with pulmonary cycles.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 15-05-2010
DOI: 10.1086/651953
Abstract: The aspartic protease of Necator americanus, Na-APR-1, is a vaccine antigen that induces antibodies that neutralize hemoglobin proteolysis in the gut of the worm. To define the epitopes recognized by these antibodies, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were raised and assessed for neutralizing activity. Three immunoglobulin (Ig) G1 mAbs bound to the intestine of N. americanus and inhibited Na-APR-1 enzymatic activity. Overlapping fragments of Na-APR-1 were expressed, and one (APR-1/5B) was recognized by all 3 mAbs the epitope was further characterized as AGPKAQVEAIQKY (A(291)Y). This same peptide with a Phe/Tyr(303) substitution was recognized by mAbs in APR-1 orthologues from Ancylostoma species hookworms. IgG from humans infected with hookworms did not recognize A(291)Y but, rather, recognized the S(107)L epitope. APR-1/5B was fused to other helminth vaccine antigens, including Schistosoma mansoni Sm-TSP-2 and N. americanus Na-GST-1 antibodies against both chimeras neutralized the enzymatic activity of Na-APR-1. These findings support the incorporation of Na-APR-1 into a multivalent vaccine against hookworm and/or schistosomiasis.
Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
Date: 04-2010
DOI: 10.1128/IAI.00848-09
Abstract: Hookworm glutathione S -transferases (GSTs) are critical for parasite blood feeding and survival and represent potential targets for vaccination. Three cDNAs, each encoding a full-length GST protein from the human hookworm Necator americanus (and designated Na -GST-1, Na -GST-2, and Na -GST-3, respectively) were isolated from cDNA based on their sequence similarity to Ac -GST-1, a GST from the dog hookworm Ancylostoma caninum . The open reading frames of the three N. americanus GSTs each contain 206 amino acids with 51% to 69% sequence identity between each other and Ac -GST-1. Sequence alignment with GSTs from other organisms shows that the three Na -GSTs belong to a nematode-specific nu-class GST family. All three Na -GSTs, when expressed in Pi chia pastoris , exhibited low lipid peroxidase and glutathione-conjugating enzymatic activities but high heme-binding capacities, and they may be involved in the detoxification and/or transport of heme. In two separate vaccine trials, recombinant Na -GST-1 formulated with Alhydrogel elicited 32 and 39% reductions in adult hookworm burdens ( P 0.05) following N. americanus larval challenge relative to the results for a group immunized with Alhydrogel alone. In contrast, no protection was observed in vaccine trials with Na -GST-2 or Na -GST-3. On the basis of these and other preclinical data, Na -GST-1 is under possible consideration for further vaccine development.
No related grants have been discovered for Luciana de Oliveira.