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Blanco RM, Lima EDS, de Haro GN, Kamikawa CM, Blanco RM, Vincentini AP, Romero EC. Comparative analysis of a novel N-butanol-prepared antigen vs thermo-resistant and sonicated antigens for human leptospirosis detection. Lett Appl Microbiol 2024; 77:ovae004. [PMID: 38216452 DOI: 10.1093/lambio/ovae004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
The diagnosis of human leptospirosis is mainly based on serological assays. Since the extraction by N-butanol has only been studied as an antigen for the diagnosis of cattle leptospirosis, this study aimed to investigate the feasibility of the N-butanol preparation for the diagnosis of human leptospirosis and compare it with sonicated and thermo-resistant antigens in IgM dot-blot test. Paired serum samples from 147 laboratory-confirmed leptospirosis cases were tested. The control group consisted of 148 serum samples from healthy individuals and nonleptospirosis cases. N-butanol antigens from serovar Copenhageni (ButC3) and serovar Patoc (ButP3) showed reactivity with antileptospiral antibodies from patients with confirmed leptospirosis. In the acute phase, sensitivities of IgM dot-blot assay with ButC3 and ButP3 antigens were 47.6% and 51.0%, respectively. In the convalescent phase, sensitivities were 95.9% (ButC3) and 93.2% (ButP3), and no significant differences were observed among the IgM dot-blot tests with other antigens. The specificity of the IgM dot-blot test with ButC3 antigen was good (92.6%), but with ButP3 (83.1%), it was significantly lower than with the other tests. The IgM dot-blot test described in this study is simple to perform and presents reliable visual results. Antigens prepared by N-butanol proved to be valuable diagnostic markers of leptospirosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Morozetti Blanco
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Bacteriologia, Laboratório de Leptospirose, 01246-000 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Doenças Infecciosas e Parasitárias, 01246-903 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Elaine Dos Santos Lima
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Bacteriologia, Laboratório de Leptospirose, 01246-000 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Gabriela Nogueira de Haro
- Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Doenças Infecciosas e Parasitárias, 01246-903 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Camila Mika Kamikawa
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Imunologia, Laboratório de Imunodiagnóstico das Micoses, 01246-000 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Adriana Pardini Vincentini
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Imunologia, Laboratório de Imunodiagnóstico das Micoses, 01246-000 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Eliete Caló Romero
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Bacteriologia, Laboratório de Leptospirose, 01246-000 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Doenças Infecciosas e Parasitárias, 01246-903 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Pinhata JMW, Brandao AP, Leite D, Oliveira RSD, Fukasawa LO, Gonçalves MG, Guerra JM, Araujo LJTD, Mansueli GP, Santos LB, Borghesan TC, Kimura LM, Takahashi JPF, Garcia JA, Piza ARDT, Ferreira CSDS, Polatto R, Guerra MLLES, Fazioli RDA, Zanella RC, Blanco RM, Ial-Working Group. Rapid response of a public health reference laboratory to the COVID-19 pandemic. J Med Microbiol 2023; 72. [PMID: 37801010 DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.001757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction. Brazil was one of the most affected countries by the COVID-19 pandemic. Instituto Adolfo Lutz (IAL) is the reference laboratory for COVID-19 in São Paulo, the most populous state in Brazil. In April 2020, a secondary diagnostic pole named IAL-2 was created to enhance IAL's capacity for COVID-19 diagnosis.Hypothesis/Gap Statement. Public health laboratories must be prepared to rapidly respond to emerging epidemics or pandemics.Aim. To describe the design of IAL-2 and correlate the results of RT-qPCR tests for COVID-19 with secondary data on suspected cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the São Paulo state.Methodology. This is a retrospective study based on the analysis of secondary data from patients suspected of infection by SARS-CoV-2 whose clinical samples were submitted to real-time PCR after reverse transcription (RT-qPCR) at IAL-2, between 1 April 2020 and 8 March 2022. RT-qPCR Ct results of the different kits used were also analysed.Results. IAL-2 was implemented in April 2020, just over a month after the detection of the first COVID-19 case in Brazil. The laboratory performed 304,250 RT-qPCR tests during the study period, of which 98 319 (32.3 %) were positive, 205827 (67.7 %) negative, and 104 (0.03 %) inconclusive for SARS-CoV-2. RT-qPCR Ct values≤30 for E/N genes of SARS-CoV-2 were presented by 79.7 % of all the samples included in the study.Conclusion. IAL was able to rapidly implement a new laboratory structure to support the processing of an enormous number of samples for diagnosis of COVID-19, outlining strategies to carry out work with quality, using different RT-qPCR protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Angela Pires Brandao
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Bacteriologia, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 9º andar, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Av. Brasil, 4365, 21040-360, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Daniela Leite
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Bacteriologia, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 9º andar, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Lucila Okuyama Fukasawa
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Imunologia, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 11º andar, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Maria Gisele Gonçalves
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Imunologia, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 11º andar, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Juliana Mariotti Guerra
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Patologia, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 7º andar, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Gina Ploeger Mansueli
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Bacteriologia, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 9º andar, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Lilian Beserra Santos
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Bacteriologia, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 9º andar, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Tarcilla Corrente Borghesan
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Bacteriologia, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 9º andar, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Lidia Midori Kimura
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Patologia, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 7º andar, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Juliana Possatto Fernandes Takahashi
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Patologia, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 7º andar, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul, Faculdade de Medicina, Programa de Pós-graduação em Doenças Infecciosas e Parasitárias, Cidade Universitária, Caixa Postal 549, 79070-900, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
| | - Juliana Alves Garcia
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Patologia, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 7º andar, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Ana Rita de Toledo Piza
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Patologia, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 7º andar, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Ricardo Polatto
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Bacteriologia, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 9º andar, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | | | - Rosemeire Cobo Zanella
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Bacteriologia, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 9º andar, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Roberta Morozetti Blanco
- Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Centro de Bacteriologia, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 351, 9º andar, 01246-000, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Fernandes EG, Gomes Porto VB, de Oliveira PMN, Duarte-Neto AN, de Sousa Maia MDL, Lignani LK, Nogueira JS, Teixeira GV, Iglezias SD, Blanco RM, Sato HK. Yellow Fever Vaccine-Associated Viscerotropic Disease among Siblings, São Paulo State, Brazil. Emerg Infect Dis 2023; 29:493-500. [PMID: 36823036 PMCID: PMC9973707 DOI: 10.3201/eid2903.220989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
We describe 5 cases of yellow fever vaccine-associated viscerotropic disease (YEL-AVD) in 2 familial clusters during the 2017-2018 yellow fever (YF) vaccination campaign in São Paulo state, Brazil. The first case was that of a 40-year-old white man who died of icterohemorrhagic syndrome, which was confirmed to be YEL-AVD by using real-time reverse transcription PCR to detect 17DD YF vaccine in the liver. Ten years previously, his brother died of a clinically similar disease without a confirmed diagnosis 9 days after YF vaccination. The second cluster included 3 of 9 siblings in whom hepatitis developed in the first week after receiving fractionated doses of YF vaccine. Two of them died of hemorrhagic diathesis and renal and respiratory failure, and 17DD-YF vaccine was detected in serum samples from all patients and in the liver in 1 case. Genetic factors might play a substantial role in the incidence of YEL-AVD.
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Revilla G, Pons MDP, Baila-Rueda L, García-León A, Santos D, Cenarro A, Magalhaes M, Blanco RM, Moral A, Ignacio Pérez J, Sabé G, González C, Fuste V, Lerma E, Faria MDS, de Leiva A, Corcoy R, Carles Escolà-Gil J, Mato E. Cholesterol and 27-hydroxycholesterol promote thyroid carcinoma aggressiveness. Sci Rep 2019; 9:10260. [PMID: 31311983 PMCID: PMC6635382 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-46727-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Cholesterol mediates its proliferative and metastatic effects via the metabolite 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-HC), at least in breast and endometrial cancer. We determined the serum lipoprotein profile, intratumoral cholesterol and 27-HC levels in a cohort of patients with well-differentiated papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC; low/intermediate and high risk), advanced thyroid cancers (poorly differentiated, PDTC and anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, ATC) and benign thyroid tumors, as well as the expression of genes involved in cholesterol metabolism. We investigated the gene expression profile, cellular proliferation, and migration in Nthy-ori 3.1 and CAL-62 cell lines loaded with human low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Patients with more aggressive tumors (high-risk PTC and PDTC/ATC) showed a decrease in blood LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B. These changes were associated with an increase in the expression of the thyroid’s LDL receptor, whereas 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase and 25-hydroxycholesterol 7-alpha-hydroxylase were downregulated, with an intratumoral increase of the 27-HC metabolite. Furthermore, LDL promoted proliferation in both the Nthy-ori 3.1 and CAL-62 thyroid cellular models, but only in ATC cells was its cellular migration increased significantly. We conclude that cholesterol and intratumoral accumulation of 27-HC promote the aggressive behavior process of PTC. Targeting cholesterol metabolism could be a new therapeutic strategy in thyroid tumors with poor prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanna Revilla
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques (IIB) Sant Pau, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.,Departament de Bioquímica, Biologia Molecular i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Monica de Pablo Pons
- Department of Endocrinology-EDUAB-HSP, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques (IIB) Sant Pau, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lucía Baila-Rueda
- Unidad Clínica y de Investigación en Lípidos y Arteriosclerosis, Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón (IIS Aragón), Zaragoza, Spain.,CIBER de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares, CIBERCV, Madrid, Spain
| | - Annabel García-León
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques (IIB) Sant Pau, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
| | - David Santos
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques (IIB) Sant Pau, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, CIBERDEM, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana Cenarro
- CIBER de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares, CIBERCV, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marcelo Magalhaes
- Service of Endocrinology, Clinical Research Center (CEPEC), Hospital of the Federal University of Maranhão (HUUFMA), São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil
| | - R M Blanco
- CIBER Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, CIBER-BBN, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Moral
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques (IIB) Sant Pau, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of General Surgery-Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.,Medicine Department, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain
| | - José Ignacio Pérez
- Department of General Surgery-Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gerard Sabé
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques (IIB) Sant Pau, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cintia González
- Department of Endocrinology-EDUAB-HSP, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.,CIBER Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, CIBER-BBN, Madrid, Spain
| | - Victoria Fuste
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques (IIB) Sant Pau, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Anatomic Pathology-Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, UAB, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Enrique Lerma
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques (IIB) Sant Pau, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Anatomic Pathology-Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, UAB, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Manuel Dos Santos Faria
- Service of Endocrinology, Clinical Research Center (CEPEC), Hospital of the Federal University of Maranhão (HUUFMA), São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil
| | - Alberto de Leiva
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques (IIB) Sant Pau, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.,CIBER Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, CIBER-BBN, Madrid, Spain
| | - Rosa Corcoy
- Department of Endocrinology-EDUAB-HSP, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain.,CIBER Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, CIBER-BBN, Madrid, Spain.,Medicine Department, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joan Carles Escolà-Gil
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques (IIB) Sant Pau, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain. .,Departament de Bioquímica, Biologia Molecular i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. .,CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas, CIBERDEM, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Eugenia Mato
- Department of Endocrinology-EDUAB-HSP, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain. .,CIBER Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, CIBER-BBN, Madrid, Spain.
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Blanco RM, Romero EC. Evaluation of nested polymerase chain reaction for the early detection of Leptospira spp. DNA in serum samples from patients with leptospirosis. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 2013; 78:343-6. [PMID: 24445157 DOI: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2013.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2013] [Revised: 12/13/2013] [Accepted: 12/13/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to analyse the nested polymerase chain reaction (nested PCR) in human serum samples of patients with clinical manifestations of leptospirosis. The cases of leptospirosis were defined by the microagglutination test (MAT). The samples were collected in 2010. Of 1042 serum samples collected from 521 patients, 28 (5.4%) were considered positive cases of leptospirosis, and 493 (94.6%) were negative. Twenty-three confirmed cases had no MAT-detectable antibodies in the acute sample (mean of 5.6 days after onset). Nested PCR was positive in 22/23 (95.7%) patients during the acute phase of the disease, with negative results by MAT. Nested PCR was negative in all convalescent serum samples with positive results by MAT. All negative cases of leptospirosis were negative by nested PCR. The nested PCR is an alternative diagnostic tool for early detection of leptospires in sera during the first 7 days of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Morozetti Blanco
- Center of Bacteriology, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 355, CEP 01246-902, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Eliete Caló Romero
- Center of Bacteriology, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 355, CEP 01246-902, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
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Cesar KR, Romero EC, de Bragança AC, Blanco RM, Abreu PAE, Magaldi AJ. Renal involvement in leptospirosis: the effect of glycolipoprotein on renal water absorption. PLoS One 2012; 7:e37625. [PMID: 22701573 PMCID: PMC3368910 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0037625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2011] [Accepted: 04/22/2012] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Leptospirotic renal lesions frequently produce a polyuric form of acute kidney injury with a urinary concentration defect. Our study investigated a possible effect of the glycolipoprotein, (GLPc) extracted from L. interrogans, on vasopressin (Vp) action in the guinea pig inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD). Methods The osmotic water permeability (Pf µm/s) was measured by the microperfusion in vitro technique. AQP2 protein abundance was determined by Western Blot. Three groups were established for study as follows: Group I, IMCD from normal (ngp, n = 5) and from leptospirotic guinea-pigs (lgp-infected with L. interrogans serovar Copenhageni, GLPc, n = 5); Group II, IMCD from normal guinea-pigs in the presence of GLPc (GLPc group, n = 54); Group III, IMCD from injected animals with GLPc ip (n = 8). Results In Group I, Pfs were: ngp- 61.8±22.1 and lgp- 8.8±12.4, p<0.01 and the urinary osmolalities were: lgp-735±64 mOsm/Kg and ngp- 1,632±120 mOsm/Kg. The lgp BUN was higher (176±36 mg%) than the ngp (56±9 mg%). In Group II, the Pf was measured under GLPc (250 µg/ml) applied directly to the bath solution of the microperfused normal guinea-pig IMCDs. GLPc blocked Vp (200 pg/ml,n = 5) action, did not block cAMP (10−4 M,) and Forskolin (Fors- 10−9 M) action, but partially blocked Cholera Toxin (ChT- 10−9 M) action. GLP from L.biflexa serovar patoc (GLPp, non pathogenic, 250 µg) did not alter Vp action. In Group III, GLPc (250 µg) injected intraperitoneally produced a decrease of about 20% in IMCD Aquaporin 2 expression. Conclusion The IMCD Pf decrease caused by GLP is evidence, at least in part, towards explaining the urinary concentrating incapacity observed in infected guinea-pigs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katia Regina Cesar
- Basic Research Lab-LIM 12, Nephrology-HCFMUSP, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | - Antonio José Magaldi
- Basic Research Lab-LIM 12, Nephrology-HCFMUSP, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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Romero EC, Blanco RM, Yasuda PH. Aseptic meningitis caused by Leptospira spp diagnosed by polymerase chain reaction. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2011; 105:988-92. [PMID: 21225195 DOI: 10.1590/s0074-02762010000800007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2010] [Accepted: 09/20/2010] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the pathogenic Leptospira spp. The clinical presentations are diverse, ranging from undifferentiated fever to fulminant disease including meningeal forms. The neurological leptospirosis forms are usually neglected. The aim of this study was to investigate leptospirosis as the cause of aseptic meningitis using different diagnostic techniques including the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Thirty-nine cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients presenting with meningeal abnormalities, predominance of lymphocytes and negative results by traditional microbiological tests were processed by leptospiral culture, anti-leptospiral antibody response and PCR. Leptospira spp DNA was detected in 23 (58.97%) of the CSF samples. Anti-leptospiral antibodies were found in 13 (33.33%) CSF samples. Twelve CSF samples were positive by PCR assay and negative by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) assay. Two CSF samples were positive by MAT and negative by PCR. The positive and negative agreement between both tests was 11 and 14, respectively. CSF samples from six cases of unknown diagnosis were positive by PCR assay. Eight cases showed positive results using PCR and MAT. Leptospirosis could be detected by PCR assay from the 3rd-26th day after illness onset. The sensitivity of the PCR was assessed with confirmed cases of leptospirosis (by MAT) and found to be 89.5%. All CSFs were negative by culture. PCR was found to be a powerful tool for diagnosing meningitis cases of leptospirosis. We recommend that it may be used as a supplementary diagnostic tool, especially in the early stages of the disease, when other diagnostic techniques such as serology are not sensitive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eliete Caló Romero
- Laboratório de Leptospirose, Seção de Bacteriologia, Divisão de Biologia Médica, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, São Paulo, SP, Brasil, 01246-902.
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Romero EC, Blanco RM, Galloway RL. Application of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis for the discrimination of leptospiral isolates in Brazil. Lett Appl Microbiol 2009; 48:623-7. [PMID: 19416464 DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-765x.2009.02580.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
AIMS Leptospirosis is a public health problem worldwide. Traditionally, microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and cross-agglutinin absorption test (CAAT) are used to identify leptospires. However, these techniques are laborious and time-consuming, requiring the maintenance of a collection of more than 200 reference strains and correspondent rabbit antisera. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) method for discrimination of Leptospira serovars. METHODS AND RESULTS Fourteen clinical isolates of Leptospira spp. were analysed by MAT before being characterized by PFGE. The isolates were compared with a library of 206 different reference Leptospira serovars. All the isolates gave clear profiles with high resolution. PFGE and MAT results were in agreement for all clinical isolates evaluated. Twelve isolates were classified as serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae/Copenhageni by PFGE. By MAT, these isolates were classified as serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae with titres ranging from 3200 to 25 600. Two isolates were classified as serovar Canicola by PFGE, and as serogroup Canicola by MAT with titres higher than 3200. CONCLUSIONS PFGE offers the advantages of simple, reliable and reproducible results. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY PFGE provides a convenient tool for the identification of clinical isolates.
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Affiliation(s)
- E C Romero
- Department of Medical Biology, Bacteriology, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Sao Paulo, Brazil. eliete_romero @yahoo.com.br
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Soler G, Bastida A, Blanco RM, Fernández-Lafuente R, Guisán JM. Reactivation strategies by unfolding/refolding of chymotrypsin derivatives after inactivation by organic solvents. Biochim Biophys Acta 1997; 1339:167-75. [PMID: 9165111 DOI: 10.1016/s0167-4838(96)00223-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Immobilized enzyme derivatives, in organic media at neutral pH and moderate temperatures, should be mainly and perhaps uniquely inactivated by promotion of conformational changes on their 3D structure. Subsequent irreversible inactivation mechanisms (intermolecular aggregations, chemical modifications, thiol-disulfide exchanges) are thus impossible. However, simple reincubation in aqueous medium of enzymes previously inactivated by solvents usually yields significant but slow and incomplete reactivations. Disruption of incorrect protein structures by denaturing agents (urea, guanidine) is proposed as a new strategy to get rapid, complete and technologically feasible reactivations. By using multipoint immobilized chymotrypsin derivatives, we have evaluated the possibility of unfolding and further refolding of native (non-inactivated) derivatives by different denaturing conditions. After unfolding in 8 M guanidine, derivatives were quickly and completely refolded up to 100% of catalytic activity in 10 minutes. Besides, successive cycles of unfolding and refolding could be exactly reproduced. Finally we checked the possibility to reactivate chymotrypsin derivatives inactivated by dioxane. Simple reincubations in aqueous media yielded a poor reactivation even after 24 hours. However, unfolding in 8 M guanidine enabled complete reactivation in less than 2 hours. From this point of view, by working under 'chemically inert conditions' (moderate pH and temperatures), fully dispersed covalently immobilized enzyme derivatives seem to behave as almost everlasting catalysts despite the very deleterious effect of organic media.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Soler
- Departamento de Biocatálisis, Instituto de Catálisis, CSIC, Campus Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, Spain
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Soler G, Blanco RM, Fernández-Lafuente R, Rosell CM, Guisán JM. Design of novel biocatalysts by "bioimprinting" during unfolding-refolding of fully dispersed covalently immobilized enzymes. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1995; 750:349-56. [PMID: 7785864 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1995.tb19979.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- G Soler
- Enzyme Technology Laboratory, Instituto de Catálisis C.S.I.C., Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, Spain
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Blanco RM, Rakels JL, Guisán JM, Halling PJ. Effect of thermodynamic water activity on amino-acid ester synthesis catalyzed by agarose-chymotrypsin in 3-pentanone. Biochim Biophys Acta 1992; 1156:67-70. [PMID: 1472540 DOI: 10.1016/0304-4165(92)90097-e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Chymotrypsin linked to agarose beads by multi-point covalent attachment catalyzes synthesis of Ac-Trp-OEt in 3-pentanone even when the thermodynamic water activity (aw) of the system is reduced to as low as 0.4. If fully hydrated catalyst is added to the reaction mixture before removal of water, product is formed linearly once aw has stabilized. The initial rate is reduced from that if aw is kept close to 1 (0.47 mmol s-1 (kg enzyme)-1), to 50% (aw 0.9), 25% (aw 0.4) and < 1% (aw 0.25). The large drop between aw of 1 and 0.9 probably reflects the effects of water removal on the agarose gel structure. Catalyst partly dried (even only to aw 0.86) before adding to the organic phase is inactive. At reduced aw, the equilibrium (when reached) is shifted in favor of the ester, as expected.
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Affiliation(s)
- R M Blanco
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
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Abstract
By using very active and very stable trypsin agarose derivatives, we have optimized the design of the synthesis of a model dipeptide, benzoylarginine leucinamide, by two different strategies: (i) kinetically controlled synthesis (KCS), by using benzoyl arginine ethyl ester and leucinamide as substrates, and (ii) thermodynamically controlled synthesis (TCS), by using benzoyl arginine and leucinamide as substrates. In each strategy, we have studied the integrated effect of a number of variables that define the reaction medium on different parameters of industrial interest, e.g. time course of peptide synthesis, higher synthetic yields, and stability of the catalyst, as well as aminolysis/hydrolysis ratios and rate of peptide hydrolysis in the case of KCS. Both synthetic approaches were carried out in monophasic water or water-organic cosolvent systems. We have mainly tested a number of variables, e.g. temperature, polarity of the reaction medium (presence of cosolvents, presence of ammonium sulfate), and exact structure of the trypsin derivatives. Optimal experimental conditions for these synthetic approaches were established in order to simultaneously obtain good values for all industrial parameters. The use of previously stabilized trypsin derivatives greatly improves the design of these synthetic approaches (e.g. by using drastic experimental conditions: 1 M ammonium sulfate (KCS) or 90% organic cosolvents (TCS]. In these conditions, our derivatives preserve more than 95% of activity after 2 months and we have been able to reach synthetic productivities of 180 (KCS) and 1 (TCS) tons of dipeptide per year per liter of catalyst.
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Affiliation(s)
- R M Blanco
- Instituto de Catálisis, C.S.I.C., Madrid, Spain
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Alvaro G, Fernandez-Lafuente R, Blanco RM, Guisán JM. Stabilizing effect of penicillin G sulfoxide, a competitive inhibitor of penicillin G acylase: Its practical applications. Enzyme Microb Technol 1991; 13:210-4. [PMID: 1367029 DOI: 10.1016/0141-0229(91)90130-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
We have found that penicillin G sulfoxide (pen G SO) behaves as a general stabilizing agent of two bacterial penicillin G acylases (PGAs) from E. coli and from K. citrophila), and this role is related to a strong inhibitory effect on the enzymes. The stabilizing effect has been observed during two different inactivation processes: (i) thermal inactivation of soluble enzymes at alkaline pH, and (ii) inactivation of immobilized enzymes as a consequence of covalent multiinteraction with highly activated agarose aldehyde gels. At the same time, pen G SO behaves as a strong competitive inhibitor of these two enzymes. The inhibition constant is more than 10-fold lower than the one corresponding to another smaller competitive inhibitor, phenylacetic acid (PAA), the structure of which is exactly the acyl donor moiety corresponding to pen G SO. In turn, PAA hardly exerts any stabilizing effect on PGAs. The stabilizing effect of pen G SO allowed the preparation of derivatives of these PGAs preserving full catalytic activity in spite of being 1,400- and 650-fold more stable than the corresponding soluble or one-point attached immobilized enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Alvaro
- Instituto de Catálisis, C.S.I.C. Serrano, Madrid, Spain
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Abstract
We have developed a strategy for immobilization-stabilization of penicillin G acylase from E. coli, PGA, by multipoint covalent attachment to agarose (aldehyde) gels. We hve studied the role of three main variables that control the intensity of these enzyme-support multiinteraction processes: 1. surface density of aldehyde groups in the activated support; 2. temperature; and 3. contact-time between the immobilized enzyme and the activated support prior to borohydride reduction of the derivatives. Different combinations of these three variables have been tested to prepare a number of PGA-agarose derivatives. All these derivatives preserve 100% of catalytic activity corresponding to the soluble enzyme that has been immobilized but they show very different stability. The less stable derivative has exactly the same thermal stability of soluble penicillin G acylase and the most stable one is approximately 1,400 fold more stable. A similar increase in the stability of the enzyme against the deleterious effect of organic solvents was also observed. On the other hand, the agarose aldehyde gels present a very great capacity to immobilize enzymes through multipoint covalent attachment. In this way, we have been able to prepare very active and very stable PGA derivatives containing up to 200 International Units of catalytic activity per mL. of derivative with 100% yields in the overall immobilization procedure.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Alvaro
- Instituto de Catálisis, C.S.I.C., Madrid, Spain
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