RESUMO
This study extends phenotypic and ecological knowledge of Coccidioides spp., by describing its recovery from soils of Ceará State (Northeast Brazil) and analyzing the in vitro features of the growth of its vegetative phase. Following a human coccidioidomycosis case, Coccidioides spp. strains were isolated from 3 of 14 soil samples collected in an armadillo's burrow. Mycological analysis showed colonies with glabrous, velvety or cottony texture and an increasing quantity of arthroconidia. The overall growth rates of the strains were slower in 8% NaCl medium, maximum growth rate was obtained at 30 degrees C, and their pH tolerance ranged from 4.0 to 11.0. Several carbohydrates and polyalcohol sources could be efficiently metabolized by Coccidioides spp. strains in the mycelial form. Total absence of growth was observed in media supplemented with either L-aspartic acid or L-histidine. Whereas intense growth was found when strains were incubated with any other aminoacid sources studied. Coccidioides spp. strains did not grow in the presence of Tween 60 and Tween 80, but exhibited intense growth in Tween 20. Nicotinic acid and the toxic compounds caffeic acid and phenol could not be metabolized by any strain. All of the strains were positive for urease production and displayed intense growth in media containing cycloheximide concentrations ranging from 0.01 and 0.05%, but did not grow at 0.1 and 0.2%. The present findings confirm the importance of armadillos burrows in the ecology of Coccidioides spp. in Northeast Brazil and indicate that the fungus is a very physiologically versatile organism.
Assuntos
Coccidioides/isolamento & purificação , Coccidioides/fisiologia , Ecologia , Microbiologia do Solo , Animais , Tatus/microbiologia , Brasil , Coccidioides/enzimologia , Coccidioides/genética , Ecossistema , Meio Ambiente , FenótipoRESUMO
Foram atendidos no Centro Integrado de Diabetes e Hipertensão do Estado do Ceará, 141 pacientes diabéticos apresentando úlceras infectadas no período de 01/03/2001 a 30/11/2002 e submetidos a um estudo microbiológico no Laboratório de Microbiologia do Departamento de Medicina Legal da Universidade Federal do Ceará. Staphyloccocus aureus foi isolado de (43, 2)dos pacientes. Das cepas de Staphyloccocus aureus 07 (11,5...
Assuntos
Humanos , Masculino , Feminino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Diabetes Mellitus , Pé Diabético , Microbiologia , Resistência Microbiana a Medicamentos , Staphylococcus aureusRESUMO
Complement receptor type 1 (CR1) is a membrane glycoprotein that acts as a receptor for the C3b, iC3b and C4b fragments of complement. In primates, one function of erythrocytes is to promote safe clearance of immunocomplexes (IC) from the circulation through CR1. Theoretically, in diseases characterized by high levels of circulating IC, an erythrocyte CR1 (CR1/E) deficiency may favor IC deposition in tissues or facilitate inappropriate activation of leukocytes in the circulation. Depression of the cell immune response occurs in paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), especially in the more severe cases, and is frequently associated with high serum IC levels. In the present study we quantified the number of CR1/E in patients with the acute and chronic forms of PCM before and after treatment and correlated it with serum IC levels and CD4+ and CD8+ T cell concentration in the peripheral blood of these patients. Patients with PCM, particularly those with active disease and who had received treatment for shorter periods of time, had low numbers of CR1/E. In addition, an increase in serum IC concentration and a reduction in the CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio were observed. After treatment there was a significant increase in mean CR1/E number and a reduction in serum IC levels. In patients with the chronic form of the disease the CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio tended to increase after treatment and was associated with increased CR1/E levels. These results suggest that the reduction in CR1/E observed in patients is a phenomenon acquired with the disease and that CR1 could play a role in the pathogenesis of PCM.
Assuntos
Eritrócitos/imunologia , Paracoccidioides/imunologia , Paracoccidioidomicose/imunologia , Receptores de Complemento/biossíntese , Complexo Antígeno-Anticorpo/biossíntese , Complexo Antígeno-Anticorpo/sangue , Proteína C-Reativa/metabolismo , Linfócitos T CD4-Positivos/imunologia , Linfócitos T CD8-Positivos/imunologia , Proteínas do Sistema Complemento/metabolismo , Eritrócitos/metabolismo , Citometria de Fluxo , Humanos , Imunoglobulinas/sangue , Paracoccidioidomicose/sangue , Receptores de Complemento/sangue , Receptores de Complemento/imunologiaAssuntos
Adesinas de Escherichia coli/imunologia , Anticorpos Antibacterianos/imunologia , Aderência Bacteriana/efeitos dos fármacos , Colostro , Escherichia coli/efeitos dos fármacos , Imunoglobulina A Secretora/imunologia , Anticorpos Antibacterianos/isolamento & purificação , Colostro/química , Colostro/imunologia , Escherichia coli/imunologia , Escherichia coli/patogenicidade , Escherichia coli/fisiologia , Feminino , Células HeLa , Humanos , Imunoglobulina A Secretora/isolamento & purificação , Recém-Nascido , Peso Molecular , Gravidez , VirulênciaRESUMO
Human colostrum and a high molecular weight colostrum fraction (HMWF; > 14,000 D) prevented the adhesion of localized adherent (LA+) O111:H-enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) to HeLa cells. This effect was abolished after absorption with an O111:H-LA + EPEC strain, but absorption with a LA- strain of same serotype had no effect on the process. A low molecular weight fraction (< 14,000 D), absorbed or not with LA+ or LA- bacterial strains, did not inhibit the adherence of E. coli to HeLa cells. IgA-depleted colostrum had no inhibitory effect on bacterial adhesion, demonstrating the critical role of this protein in the phenomenon. Heat inactivation of whole colostrum did not significantly modify the inhibition adherence levels. Immunoblots of O111:H-LA+ strain outer-membrane complex reacted with colostrum and HMWF showing that IgA antibodies were predominantly reactive with a 94-kD protein. These data confirm and extend observations about colostrum sIgA participation in adhesion inhibition of EPEC to HeLa cells and its response to a 94-kD outer-membrane protein.