Orthohantavirus infections in South America: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Orthohantaviruses are zoonotic pathogens that cause acute and severe syndromes in humans. This review was performed to estimate the occurrence of human orthohantaviruses in South America between 2010 and 2022. A careful evaluation of the eligibility and quality of the articles was carried out after a systematic bibliographic search of four databases. The pooled frequency of human orthohantaviruses was calculated using a random effects model meta-analysis. The heterogeneity of estimates (resulting from the chi2 test and I2 statistics) was investigated by subgroup analysis and meta-regression. 1,962 confirmed cases of orthohantavirus infections were diagnosed among 35,548 individuals from seven South American countries. The general occurrence of orthohantaviruses was estimated to be 4.4% (95% confidence interval: 2.9-6.2%) based on general pooling of human cases from 32 studies. In a subgroup analysis considering the study design and method of diagnosis, the percentages of diagnosed orthohantavirus infections differed substantially (I2 = 97.8%, p = 0.00) among South American countries. Four genetic variants of orthohantavirus have been identified circulating in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. Although laboratory diagnosis of orthohantaviruses is not performed in many countries in South America, there is evidence that four different orthohantaviruses are circulating in the region. The pooled occurrence of viral infection was approximately 4.0% in more than half of the South American countries. Updated information on the occurrence of human infections is essential for monitoring the territorial spread and determining the frequency of this zoonosis.

Nicotine-mediated signals modulate cell death and survival of T lymphocytes.

The capacity of nicotine to affect the behavior of non-neuronal cells through neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) has been the subject of considerable recent attention. Previously, we showed that exposure to nicotine activates the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) transcription factor in lymphocytes and endothelial cells, leading to alterations in cellular growth and vascular endothelial growth factor production. Here, we extend these studies to document effects of nicotine on lymphocyte survival. The data show that nicotine induces paradoxical effects that might alternatively enforce survival or trigger apoptosis, suggesting that depending on timing and context, nicotine might act both as a survival factor or as an inducer of apoptosis in normal or transformed lymphocytes, and possibly other non-neuronal cells. In addition, our results show that, while having overlapping functions, low and high affinity nAChRs also transmit signals that promote distinct outcomes in lymphocytes. The sum of our data suggests that selective modulation of nAChRs might be useful to regulate lymphocyte activation and survival in health and disease.

Effects of Senna occidentalis on chick bursa of Fabricius.

Senna occidentalis (L) Link (formerly called Cassia occidentalis) is a toxic leguminous plant found ubiquitously as a contaminant of crops. All parts of the plant are toxic, but most of the S. occidentalis toxicity is found in the seeds. S. occidentalis has been shown to be toxic to several animal species, causing degenerative lesions mainly in muscles. This is the first report describing alterations in chick lymphoid organs caused by S. occidentalis seeds. The objectives of this study were to describe the effects of the treatment with seeds and its fraction external tegument (TE) on the development of chicks and their lymphoid organs bursa of Fabricius and spleen. Chicks that received a commercial ration with 1% TE had reduced body and lymphoid organ weights. The bursa of Fabricius presented reduction in the diameters of the follicles, and in the thickness of the cortical and medullary regions. The spleen presented depleted lymphoid tissue in the white pulp. These results indicate that the active principle of S. occidentalis is more concentrated on its TE fraction, and that it can cause weight loss as well as alterations in the lymphoid organs in chicks. The consequences of these alterations should be further investigated.