Ediane Batista da Silva

MPT-51/CpG DNA vaccine protects mice against Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a severe infectious disease that kills approximately two million people worldwide every year. Because BCG protection is variable and does not protects adults, there is a great need for a new vaccine against TB that does not represent a risk for immunocompromised patients and that is also capable of protecting adult individuals. MPT-51 is a protein found in the genome of mycobacteria and binds to the fibronectin of the extracellular matrix, which may have a role in host tissue attachment and virulence. In order to test the usefulness of MPT-51 as a subunit vaccine, BALB/c were vaccinated and challenged with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The infection of BALB/c with M. tuberculosis increased the number of IFN-gamma(+) T lymphocytes specific to MPT-51 in the spleen and lungs. Inoculation with rMPT-51/FIA and with rMPT-51/CpG DNA in non-infected BALB/c increased the amounts of IFN-gamma(+) T lymphocytes. Inoculation with rMPT-51/FIA also induced a humoral response specific to MPT-51. CFU counts of lung tissues done 60 days after infection showed a reduction of about 2 log in the bacteria load in the group of animals inoculated with rMPT-51/CpG DNA. These results make MPT-51 a valuable component to be further evaluated in the development of other subunit vaccines.

Using BCG, MPT-51 and Ag85 as antigens in an indirect ELISA for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis.

This study evaluated the Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein antigen MPT-51, the trimeric antigen 85 (Ag85) complex, and Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) in an indirect ELISA to diagnose bovine tuberculosis (TB) from serum samples. Serum was collected from 208 intra-dermal tuberculin test (ITT)-positive and 54 ITT-negative animals from a region where bovine TB is endemic. Using the Ag85 and BCG antigens, the indirect ELISA was able to discriminate ITT-positive from ITT-negative animals. This level of discrimination was not achieved when using the MPT-51 antigen. The highest sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of the test was found when BCG was used (Se, 82%; Sp, 91%). Further work in different epidemiological settings and with larger numbers of animals will be required to validate these findings.

Característica leucocitária, relação albumina/globulina, proteína plasmática e fibrinogênio de bovinos da raça Nelore, confinados e terminados a pasto

This research aimed to evaluate the changes in the white blood cell count and some serum proteins of confined cattle (CC) and grass cattle (GC). From the 120 blood samples collected, 60 were obtained from confined Nelore male bovines and 60 from animals with the same characteristics but managed extensively. Samples were obtained at the moment of slaughter. Parameters studied were the white blood cell count, serum albumin/globulin ratio and concentration of plasma fibrinogen. Descriptive statistics was used in the analysis of the data, and the averages, standard deviation and coefficient of variation calculated for all parameters evaluated. The comparisons between averages were made by non-parametric test. The grazing cattle showed higher levels of globulin and fibrinogen when compared to the confined ones (globulin: GC=3.29g dL-1±0.76; CC=2.99g dL-1±0.60 and Fibrinogen: GC=872mg dL

Sensitization with atypical mycobacteria is a potent risk factor for cross-reaction with the delayed type hypersensitivity assay in mice

Tuberculosis is a disease that infects approximately two billion people worldwide. The current diagnostic test utilizes purified protein derivative (PPD) obtained from Mycobacterium tuberculosis cultures to elicit a host delayed type hypersensitivity reaction to identify infected individuals. This reaction is manifested as an induration at 48 hours following intradermal i njection. These experiments demonstrate that in a mouse model, repeated administrations of PPD do not elicit a positive tuberculin skin test (TST). However, prior sensitization to environmental mycobacteria does induce a positive TST when administered via the intraperitoneal or oral route. This work has important implications regarding the specificity of the PPD reagent, disease diagnosis, and environmental mycobacteria.

Rumenotomia em bovinos: uso da paramentação e de oxitetraciclina parenteral na profilaxia de complicações pós-operatórias

The effects of surgical garment of surgeon and auxiliary and the use of antibiotic were evaluated for the occurrence of postoperative complications in 28 cows submitted to rumenotomy the cours were equally allotted to the following groups: Group I (GI) and II (GII), rumenotomy performed following standard surgery garment procedures for both surgeon and auxiliary; groups III (GIII) and IV (GIV) rumenotomy performed without garment. On the postoperative, parenteral antibiotic with oxytetracycline was used on groups I and III. The main complications observed were: edema, subcutaneous emphysema, wound dehiscence and peritonitis. Surgical garmenting contributed positively to reduce healing time. The antibiotic tused did not influence recovery time within groups without surgical garmenting of surgeon and auxiliary.