RESUMO
Infestation with organisms causing lymphatic filariasis (i.e. Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi) results in a variety of clinical presentations. It is possible that some of the variation is due to differences in host response to parasite. To determine whether individuals who live in an endemic area but differ in their clinical manifestations respond to different filarial antigens, we screened Onchocerca volvulus expression libraries with sera from a number of individuals belonging to different clinical groups. The results of the study demonstrate that there are indeed differences in the recognition of three cloned filarial antigens and that this differential recognition is related to clinical symptomatology. The most striking finding is that an Onchocerca volvulus protein homologous to the 70 kDa Xenopus laevis heat shock protein is primarily recognized by individuals who are amicrofilaremic. Further analysis is required to determine whether these antigens play any role in the pathogenesis of filarial infection or have any potential value in protective immunity.
Assuntos
Filariose/imunologia , Proteínas de Choque Térmico/imunologia , Onchocerca/imunologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Animais , Antígenos de Helmintos/genética , Antígenos de Helmintos/imunologia , Sequência de Bases , Reações Cruzadas , DNA/genética , Feminino , Proteínas de Choque Térmico/genética , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Onchocerca/genética , Homologia de Sequência do Ácido NucleicoRESUMO
Chlamydia pneumoniae infection can exacerbate atherosclerosis in animals. To test the hypothesis that antibiotic therapy inhibits the atherogenic effects of C. pneumoniae infection, 10-week-old apolipoprotein E (ApoE) null mice were infected with C. pneumoniae or placebo, were treated for 2 weeks after infection with azithromycin or placebo, and were killed at 20 weeks of age. Infection did not affect the size of the aortic lesion, and antibiotic treatment had no effect. Another group of mice, 12-week-old ApoE mice, were infected with C. pneumoniae or placebo, were treated for 2 weeks after infection with azithromycin or placebo, and were killed at 26 weeks of age. C. pneumoniae infection increased the size of the lesion in infected mice, but azithromycin did not reduce the size of the aortic lesion in infected mice. Therefore, immediate therapy of acute infection may be necessary to prevent the proatherogenic effects of C. pneumoniae infection.