Infection-induced respiratory burst in BALB/c macrophages kills Leishmania guyanensis amastigotes through apoptosis: possible involvement in resistance to cutaneous leishmaniasis.

The immune mechanisms that underlie resistance and susceptibility to leishmaniasis are not completely understood for all species of Leishmania. It is becoming clear that the immune response, the parasite elimination by the host and, as a result, the outcome of the disease depend both on the host and on the species of the infecting Leishmania. Here, we analyzed the outcome of the infection of BALB/c mice with L. guyanensis in vivo and in vitro. We showed that BALB/c mice, which are a prototype of susceptible host for most species of Leishmania, dying from these infections, develop insignificant or no cutaneous lesions and eliminate the parasite when infected with promastigotes of L. guyanensis. In vitro, we found that thioglycollate-elicited BALB/c peritoneal macrophages, which are unable to eliminate L. amazonensis without previous activation with cytokines or lipopolysaccharide, can kill L. guyanensis amastigotes. This is the first report showing that infection of peritoneal macrophages with stationary phase promastigotes efficiently triggers innate microbicidal mechanisms that are effective in eliminating the amastigotes, without exogenous activation. We demonstrated that L. guyanensis amastigotes die inside the macrophages through an apoptotic process that is independent of nitric oxide and is mediated by reactive oxygen intermediates generated in the host cell during infection. This innate killing mechanism of macrophages may account for the resistance of BALB/c mice to infection by L. guyanensis.

Phytoremediation of water contaminated with mercury using Typha domingensis in constructed wetland.

The presence of mercury in aquatic environments is a matter of concern by part of the scientific community and public health organizations worldwide due to its persistence and toxicity. The phytoremediation consists in a group of technologies based on the use of natural occurrence or genetically modified plants, in order to reduce, remove, break or immobilize pollutants and working as an alternative to replace conventional effluent treatment methods due to its sustainability - low cost of maintenance and energy. The current study provides information about a pilot scale experiment designed to evaluate the potential of the aquatic macrophyte Typha domingensis in a constructed wetland with subsurface flow for phytoremediation of water contaminated with mercury. The efficiency in the reduction of the heavy metal concentration in wetlands, and the relative metal sorption by the T. domingensis, varied according to the exposure time. The continued rate of the system was 7 times higher than the control line, demonstrating a better performance and reducing 99.6±0.4% of the mercury presents in the water contaminated. When compared to other species, the results showed that the T. domingensis demonstrated a higher mercury accumulation (273.3515±0.7234 mg kg(-1)) when the transfer coefficient was 7750.9864±569.5468 L kg(-1). The results in this present study shows the great potential of the aquatic macrophyte T. domingensis in constructed wetlands for phytoremediation of water contaminated with mercury.