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Selenium has been proven to influence several biological functions, showing to be an essential micronutrient. The functional studies demonstrated the benefits of a balanced selenium diet and how its deficiency is associated with diverse diseases, especially cancer and viral diseases. Selenium is an antioxidant, protecting the cells from damage, enhancing the immune system response, preventing cardiovascular diseases, and decreasing inflammation. Selenium can be found in its inorganic and organic forms, and its main form in the cells is the selenocysteine incorporated into selenoproteins. Twenty-five selenoproteins are currently known in the human genome: glutathione peroxidases, iodothyronine deiodinases, thioredoxin reductases, selenophosphate synthetase, and other selenoproteins. These proteins lead to the transport of selenium in the tissues, protect against oxidative damage, contribute to the stress of the endoplasmic reticulum, and control inflammation. Due to these functions, there has been growing interest in the influence of polymorphisms in selenoproteins in the last two decades. Selenoproteins' gene polymorphisms may influence protein structure and selenium concentration in plasma and its absorption and even impact the development and progression of certain diseases. This review aims to elucidate the role of selenoproteins and understand how their gene polymorphisms can influence the balance of physiological conditions. In this polymorphism review, we focused on the PubMed database, with only articles published in English between 2003 and 2023. The keywords used were "selenoprotein" and "polymorphism". Articles that did not approach the theme subject were excluded. Selenium and selenoproteins still have a long way to go in molecular studies, and several works demonstrated the importance of their polymorphisms as a risk biomarker for some diseases, especially cardiovascular and thyroid diseases, diabetes, and cancer.
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Neoplasias , Selênio , Humanos , Selênio/metabolismo , Selenoproteínas/genética , Selenoproteínas/metabolismo , Inflamação/genética , Neoplasias/genética , BiomarcadoresRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Angiogenesis has been implicated in tissue injury in several noninfectious diseases, but its role in Chagas disease (CD) physiopathology is unclear. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Trypanosoma cruzi infection on cardiac angiogenesis during the acute phase of experimental CD. METHODS: The signalling pathway involved in blood vessel formation and cardiac remodelling was evaluated in Swiss Webster mice infected with the Y strain of T. cruzi. The levels of molecules involved in the regulation of angiogenesis, such as vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), Flk-1, phosphorylated extracellular-signal-regulated protein kinase (pERK), hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), CD31, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and also the blood vessel growth were analysed during T. cruzi infection. Hearts were analysed using conventional histopathology, immunohistochemistry and western blotting. FINDINGS: In this study, our data demonstrate that T. cruzi acute infection in mice induces exacerbated angiogenesis in the heart and parallels cardiac remodelling. In comparison with noninfected controls, the cardiac tissue of T. cruzi-infected mice presented higher levels of (i) HIF-1α, VEGF-A, Flk-1 and pERK; (ii) angiogenesis; (iii) α-SMA+ cells in the tissue; and (iv) collagen -1 deposition around blood vessels and infiltrating throughout the myocardium. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: We observed cardiac angiogenesis during acute experimental T. cruzi infection parallels cardiac inflammation and remodelling.
Assuntos
Doença de Chagas , Fator A de Crescimento do Endotélio Vascular , Camundongos , Animais , Fator A de Crescimento do Endotélio Vascular/metabolismo , Remodelação Ventricular , Doença de Chagas/metabolismo , Coração , Miocárdio/patologiaRESUMO
A three-dimensional (3D) cell culture can more precisely mimic tissues architecture and functionality, being a promising alternative model to study disease pathophysiology and drug screening. Chagas disease (CD) is a neglected parasitosis that affects 7 million people worldwide. Trypanosoma cruzi's (T. cruzi) mechanisms of invasion/persistence continue to be elucidated. Benznidazole (BZ) and Nifurtimox (NF) are trypanocidal drugs with few effects on the clinical manifestations of the chronic disease. Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC) is the main manifestation of CD due to its frequency and severity. The development of fibrosis and hypertrophy in cardiac tissue can lead to heart failure and sudden death. Thus, there is an urgent need for novel therapeutic options. Our group has more than fifteen years of expertise using 3D primary cardiac cell cultures, being the first to reproduce fibrosis and hypertrophy induced by T. cruzi infection in vitro. These primary cardiac spheroids exhibit morphological and functional characteristics that are similar to heart tissue, making them an interesting model for studying CD cardiac fibrosis. Here, we aim to demonstrate that our primary cardiac spheroids are great preclinical models which can be used to develop new insights into CD cardiac fibrosis, presenting advances already achieved in the field, including disease modeling and drug screening.
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Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women worldwide. Therapeutic strategies to control tumors and metastasis are still challenging. Three-dimensional (3D) spheroid-type systems more accurately replicate the features of tumors in vivo, working as a better platform for performing therapeutic response analysis. This work aimed to characterize the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and doxorubicin (dox) response in a mammary tumor spheroid (MTS) model. We evaluated the doxorubicin treatment effect on MCF-7 spheroid diameter, cell viability, death, migration and proteins involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. Spheroids were also produced from tumors formed from 4T1 and 67NR cell lines. MTSs mimicked avascular tumor characteristics, exhibited adherens junction proteins and independently produced their own extracellular matrix. Our spheroid model supports the 3D culturing of cells isolated from mice mammary tumors. Through the migration assay, we verified a reduction in E-cadherin expression and an increase in vimentin expression as the cells became more distant from spheroids. Dox promoted cytotoxicity in MTSs and inhibited cell migration and the EMT process. These results suggest, for the first time, that this model reproduces aspects of the EMT process and describes the potential of dox in inhibiting the metastatic process, which can be further explored.
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Neurological commitment is a neglected manifestation of Chagas disease (CD). Meningoencephalitis mainly affects children and immunosuppressed patients, while stroke can occur with or without cardiac compromise. One of the possible causes of stroke development is microvascular commitment. Our group previously described that experimental Trypanossoma cruzi acute infection leads to cerebral microvasculopathy. This condition is characterized by decreased capillary density, increased leukocyte rolling and adhesion, and endothelial dysfunction. CD was discovered 114 years ago, and until today, only two drugs have been available for clinical treatment: benznidazole and nifurtimox. Both present a high cure rate for the acute phase (80%) and small cure rate for the chronic phase (20%). In addition, the high occurrence of side-effects, without proper medical follow-up, can result in treatment abandonment. Therefore, the search for new therapeutic schemes is necessary. Statins are drugs already used in the clinic that have several pleiotropic effects including endothelial function improvement, anti-inflammatory action, as well as trypanocidal effects, making them a potential alternative treatment for brain microvasculopathy in CD. Here, we investigate the effect of lovastatin (LOV) on brain microvasculopathy and inflammatory parameters. Swiss Webster mice were intraperitoneally inoculated with the Y strain of T. cruzi. Treatment with lovastatin (20 mg/kg/day) was initiated 24 h after the infection and continued for 14 consecutive days. We observed that LOV treatment did not affect parasitemia, brain microcirculation alterations, or the reduction in cerebral blood flow caused by T. cruzi infection. Also, LOV did not prevent the increased number of CD3+ cells and eNOS levels in the T. cruzi-infected brain. No alterations were observed on VCAM-1 and MCP-1 expressions, neither caused by infection nor LOV treatment. However, LOV prevented the increase in F4/80+ cells and ICAM-1 levels in the brain caused by acute infection with T. cruzi. These results suggest an anti-inflammatory activity of LOV, but more studies are needed to elucidate the role of LOV in CD acute infection.
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Chagas disease (CD) is caused by the flagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. It is endemic in Latin America. Nowadays around 6 million people are affected worldwide, and 75 million are still at risk. CD has two evolutive phases, acute and chronic. The acute phase is mostly asymptomatic, or presenting unspecific symptoms which makes it hard to diagnose. At the chronic phase, patients can stay in the indeterminate form or develop cardiac and/or digestive manifestations. The two trypanocide drugs available for the treatment of CD are benznidazole (BZ) and nifurtimox (NFX), introduced in the clinic more than five decades ago. WHO recommends treatment for patients at the acute phase, at risk of congenital infection, for immunosuppressed patients and children with chronic infection. A high cure rate is seen at the CD acute phase but better treatment schemes still need to be investigated for the chronic phase. There are some limitations within the use of the trypanocide drugs, with side effects occurring in about 40% of the patients, that can lead patients to interrupt treatment. In addition, patients with advanced heart problems should not be treated with BZ. This is a neglected disease, discovered 114 years ago that still has no drug effective for their chronic phase. Multiple social economic and cultural barriers influence CD research. The high cost of the development of new drugs, in addition to the low economical return, results in the lack of investment. More economic support is required from governments and pharmaceutical companies on the development of more research for CD treatment. Two approaches stand out: repositioning and combination of drugs, witch drastically decrease the cost of this process, when compared to the development of a new drug. Here we discuss the progress of the clinical trials for the etiological and pathophysiological treatment for CD. In summary, more studies are needed to propose a new drug for CD. Therefore, BZ is still the best option for CD. The trials in course should clarify more about new treatment regimens, but it is already possible to indicate that dosage and time of treatment need to be adjusted.
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Chagas disease (CD) caused by Trypanosoma cruzi is a neglected illness and a major reason for cardiomyopathy in endemic areas. The existing therapy generally involves trypanocidal agents and therapies that control cardiac alterations. However, there is no treatment for the progressive cardiac remodeling that is characterized by inflammation, microvasculopathy and extensive fibrosis. Thus, the search for new therapeutic strategies aiming to inhibit the progression of cardiac injury and failure is necessary. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (VEGF-A) is the most potent regulator of vasculogenesis and angiogenesis and has been implicated in inducing exacerbated angiogenesis and fibrosis in chronic inflammatory diseases. Since cardiac microvasculopathy in CD is also characterized by exacerbated angiogenesis, we investigated the effect of inhibition of the VEGF signaling pathway using a monoclonal antibody (bevacizumab) on cardiac remodeling and function. Swiss Webster mice were infected with Y strain, and cardiac morphological and molecular analyses were performed. We found that bevacizumab significantly increased survival, reduced inflammation, improved cardiac electrical function, diminished angiogenesis, decreased myofibroblasts in cardiac tissue and restored collagen levels. This work shows that VEGF is involved in cardiac microvasculopathy and fibrosis in CD and the inhibition of this factor could be a potential therapeutic strategy for CD.
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BACKGROUND: Cardiac fibrosis is a consequence of chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy (CCC). In other cardiovascular diseases, the protagonist role of fibroblasts in cardiac fibrosis is well established. However, the role of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) in fibrosis during the CCC is not clear. Here, our aim was to investigate the effect of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease on CFs activation. METHODS: Cardiac fibroblasts were purified from primary cultures of mouse embryo cardiac cells. After two passages, cells were infected with T. cruzi (Y strain) and analyzed at different times for determination of infectivity, activation and production of extracellular matrix components (fibronectin, laminin and collagen IV) by immunofluorescence and western blot. RESULTS: At second passage, cultures were enriched in CFs (95% of fibroblasts and 5% of cardiomyocytes), as revealed by presence of alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and discoidin domain receptor 2 (DDR2) and absence of sarcomeric tropomyosin (ST) protein expression. Trypanosoma cruzi infection induced fibroblast-myofibroblast transition, with increased expression of α-SMA after 6 and 24 h post-infection (hpi). Fibronectin was increased at 6, 24 and 48 hpi, laminin was increased at 6 and 24 hpi and collagen IV was increased at 6 hpi. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that T. cruzi activates CFs, inducing activation and exacerbates ECM production. Furthermore, our data raise the possibility of the involvement of CFs in heart fibrosis during Chagas disease.
Assuntos
Proteínas da Matriz Extracelular/genética , Fibroblastos/parasitologia , Miofibroblastos/parasitologia , Trypanosoma cruzi/fisiologia , Animais , Western Blotting , Células Cultivadas , Cardiomiopatia Chagásica/parasitologia , Cardiomiopatia Chagásica/fisiopatologia , Colágeno/genética , Fibroblastos/fisiologia , Fibronectinas/genética , Imunofluorescência , Laminina/genética , Camundongos , Miofibroblastos/fisiologiaRESUMO
Em 2020 o mundo foi atingido pela pandemia da COVID-19, causada pelo vírus SARS-CoV-2, que desencadeou a impossibilidade de realizar atividades presenciais pelo isolamento e o distanciamento social. A Internet se tornou uma grande fonte de informações sobre a COVID-19. Versões distorcidas dos fatos começaram a ser disseminadas pelas pessoas por este meio, as quais se aproveitaram da desinformação, do medo, e da insegurança da população para criar narrativas de comunicação científica errôneas. No auge da pandemia, devido às condições sociais, o Instagram, que é uma poderosa ferramenta de comunicação no contexto das redes sociais, e possui um alto alcance, foi altamente utilizado para disseminar informações sobre a pandemia. Visando contribuir para disseminação de informação acessível e segura sobre COVID-19 e assuntos relacionados a saúde, nosso grupo criou um perfil no Instagram denominado @grupo.cienciagram em julho de 2021. O @grupo.cienciagram foi criado por estudantes do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, sendo composto por: uma doutora, uma aluna de doutorado, um aluno de mestrado e três alunas de iniciação científica. Nele são disponibilizadas informações nos formatos: (1) "postagem rápida", (2) "postagem carrossel", (3) vídeos em reels e (4) vídeos de IGTV, abordando temas como: segurança e eficácia das vacinas; a diferença entre seus mecanismos (diferentes tipos); o significado dos testes de IgG e IgM; o que são variantes de um vírus, entre outros. Em seis meses de atividade, foram feitas 68 postagens e durante esse período o perfil acumulou mais de sete mil seguidores, com reels que chegaram a atingir mais de 2 milhões de visualizações. As análises das métricas de acesso e visualizações foram feitas a partir dos dados do Instagram Insights. Nossos dados demonstram que o Instagram é uma rede social com grande potencial para disseminação de informações de qualidade sobre saúde e para a divulgação científica com grande visibilidade.
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BACKGROUND Angiogenesis has been implicated in tissue injury in several noninfectious diseases, but its role in Chagas disease (CD) physiopathology is unclear. OBJECTIVES The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Trypanosoma cruzi infection on cardiac angiogenesis during the acute phase of experimental CD. METHODS The signalling pathway involved in blood vessel formation and cardiac remodelling was evaluated in Swiss Webster mice infected with the Y strain of T. cruzi. The levels of molecules involved in the regulation of angiogenesis, such as vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), Flk-1, phosphorylated extracellular-signal-regulated protein kinase (pERK), hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), CD31, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and also the blood vessel growth were analysed during T. cruzi infection. Hearts were analysed using conventional histopathology, immunohistochemistry and western blotting. FINDINGS In this study, our data demonstrate that T. cruzi acute infection in mice induces exacerbated angiogenesis in the heart and parallels cardiac remodelling. In comparison with noninfected controls, the cardiac tissue of T. cruzi-infected mice presented higher levels of (i) HIF-1α, VEGF-A, Flk-1 and pERK; (ii) angiogenesis; (iii) α-SMA+ cells in the tissue; and (iv) collagen -1 deposition around blood vessels and infiltrating throughout the myocardium. MAIN CONCLUSIONS We observed cardiac angiogenesis during acute experimental T. cruzi infection parallels cardiac inflammation and remodelling.
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O câncer de mama é o mais prevalente entre as mulheres no mundo e no Brasil. Ainda é um desafio a busca por estratégias terapêuticas que atuem no controle tumoral e metástase. Nesse contexto, o desenvolvimento de modelos in vitro que mimetizem tumores in vivo, pode ajudar nessa busca. Os sistemas tridimensionais (3D) do tipo esferoide mimetizam mais fidedignamente as características moleculares, morfológicas e funcionais de tumores in vivo do que as tradicionais culturas em monocamada (2D). Com base na experiência do nosso grupo com esferoides de múltiplos tipos celulares, o objetivo deste trabalho foi estabelecer um modelo de esferoide tumoral mamário para investigar in vitro o potencial metastático e de resposta terapêutica das células tumorais. Os esferoides tumorais mamários (ETM) produzidos a partir da linhagem celular MCF-7 mimetizaram características dos tumores avasculares, como centro necrótico e células proliferativas na periferia. Além disso, os ETM exibiram proteínas de junção aderente e foram capazes de produzir sua própria matriz extracelular. Também demonstramos que o modelo de esferoide suporta o cultivo em 3D de células isoladas a partir de tumores mamários de camundongos, produzidos a partir das linhagens 4T1 e 67NR. Através de ensaio de migração celular, demonstramos pela primeira vez que este modelo reproduz o processo de transição epitelial-mesenquimal (TEM) característico como uma das etapas da formação de metástase, verificado pela perda da proteína E-caderina e aumento da expressão de vimentina, à medida que as células se distanciam do \201Ctumor\201D in vitro Observamos ainda a migração coletiva de células, outra característica do processo metastático. Validamos ainda, o modelo para estudos de resposta terapêutica in vitro, utilizando a doxorrubicina (dox) e observamos que foi possível avaliar parâmetros distintos de citotoxicidade. A dox induziu morte celular, reduziu o diâmetro dos esferoides e inibiu a metástase in vitro, sugerindo uma nova aplicação para essa droga no tratamento anti-câncer. Também avaliamos pela primeira vez em cultura 3D, o efeito antitumoral da \F062-lapachona (\F062-lap), um composto natural que foi capaz de induzir morte cerebral e inibir a metástase in vitro, reduzindo a migração coletiva e inibindo o processo de TEM. Nossos resultados demonstram que o cultivo 3D reproduziu características de tumores mamários observadas in vivo, incluindo o processo metastático, sendo sensível ao tratamento com dox e \F062-lap, sugerindo que os esferoides tumorais mamários podem ser considerados uma ferramenta poderosa para o estudo de novas abordagens terapêuticas in vitro contra o câncer de mama.
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Neoplasias da Mama , Esferoides Celulares , Metástase Neoplásica , Transição Epitelial-MesenquimalRESUMO
A fibrose cardíaca é uma importante manifestação da cardiomiopatia chagásica. O papel dos fibroblastos cardíacos (FCs) nesse processo é pouco estudado. Nesse trabalho investigamos o efeito da infecção pelo Trypanosoma cruzi (cepa Y) e do fator de necrose tumoral (TNF) sobre a ativação de FCs in vitro, visando compreender o papel de FCs ativados no processo de gênese da fibrose cardíaca na infecção chagásica. Os FCs foram obtidos a partir de culturas primárias de células cardíacas de fetos de camundongos Swiss Webster, e sua ativação avaliada através da análise da proliferação, diferenciação destas células em miofibroblastos e a expressão de proteínas de matriz extracelular (ECM) através de imunofluorescência (IF) e Western blotting (WB). A caracterização das culturas foi feita através de análise morfológica e funcional e pela análise da expressão dos marcadores tropomiosina sarcomérica (TS) e receptor de domínio de discoidina 2 (DDR2). No nosso sistema de cultivo, 40% dos FCs foram infectados pelo T. cruzi quando utilizamos uma multiplicidade de infecção (MOI) de 10 e 24h de interação As análises da expressão de alfa actina de músculo liso (\03B1-SMA) por WB, revelaram aumento desta proteína nas culturas infectadas sugerindo diferenciação para miofibroblasto nos tempos de 6h e 24h pós-infecção. As análises de proteínas de ECM revelaram aumento na expressão de fibronectina (FN) após 6h, 24h e 48h de infecção e de laminina (LN) após 6h e 24h, quando comparadas as culturas não infectadas. O tratamento com TNF não estimulou a produção de TNF e NO pelos FCs. TNF também não induziu a diferenciação e a síntese de ECM, porém influenciou o processo de proliferação destas células, revelado pelo aumento de células ki-67+ por IF. Ainda, a citocina reduziu as taxa de infecção dos FCs pelo parasita. Assim, nossos resultados demonstram um efeito da infecção pelo T. cruzi e do TNF sobre a ativação de fibroblastos cardíacos, seja através da indução de diferenciação celular e expressão de proteínas de ECM, ou ainda pela indução de proliferação dos FCs, processos estes que podem contribuir para a gênese da fibrose cardíaca observada na doença de Chagas.