Application of antigenic biomarkers for Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The study and characterization of biomolecules involved in the interaction between mycobacteria and their hosts are crucial to determine their roles in the invasion process and provide basic knowledge about the biology and pathogenesis of disease. Promising new biomarkers for diagnosis and immunotherapy have emerged recently. Mycobacterium is an ancient pathogen that has developed complex strategies for its persistence in the host and environment, likely based on the complexity of the network of interactions between the molecules involved in infection. Several biomarkers have received recent attention in the process of developing rapid and reliable detection techniques for tuberculosis. Among the most widely investigated antigens are CFP-10 (10-kDa culture filtrate protein), ESAT-6 (6-kDa early secretory antigenic target), Ag85A, Ag85B, CFP-7, and PPE18. Some of these antigens have been proposed as biomarkers to assess the key elements of the response to infection of both the pathogen and host. The design of novel and accurate diagnostic methods is essential for the control of tuberculosis worldwide. Presently, the diagnostic methods are based on the identification of molecules in the humoral response in infected individuals. Therefore, these tests depend on the capacity of the host to develop an immune response, which usually is heterogeneous. In the last 20 years, special attention has been given to the design of multiantigenic diagnostic methods to improve the levels of sensitivity and specificity. In this review, we summarize the state of the art in the study and use of mycobacterium biomolecules with the potential to support novel tuberculosis control strategies.

What Can Proteomics Tell Us about Tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease transmitted by aerosol droplets and characterized by forming granulomatous lesions. Although the number of people infected in the population is high, the vast majority does not exhibit symptoms of active disease and only 5-10% develop the disease after a latent period that can vary from weeks to years. The bases of the immune response for this resistance are unknown, but it depends on a complex interaction between the environment, the agent, and the host. The analysis of cellular components of M. tuberculosis shows important host-pathogen interactions, metabolic pathways, virulence mechanisms, and mechanisms of adaptation to the environment. However, the M. tuberculosis proteome still remains largely uncharacterized in terms of virulence and pathogenesis. Here, we summarize some of the major proteomic studies performed to scrutinize all the mycobacterial components.

Solubilidad de un compuesto con actividad fasciolicida: evaluación de eficacia in vitro y en ovinos experimentalmente infectados con Fasciola hepatica / Solubility of a compound with fasciolicidal activity: evaluation of efficacy in vitro and experimentally on infected sheep with Fasciola hepatica

Compound alpha (Ca) is a benzimidazolic derívate which has shown a high fasciolicidal efficacy when it is given by oral via. Solubilization of Ca would be a suitable alternative to obtain an injectable formulation. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the solubility of Ca in order to determine the in vitro fasciolicidal efficacy and experimentally on infected ovines. The assays of solubility quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), showed that beta-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and hydroxi-propylbeta-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) solubilized in 0.015% and 1.018% respectively. The solubilization for HP-β-CD was calculated as 3.95% for 5.8 mg; 10.76% for HP-β-CD with methanol, 39.048% for proylene-glycol (PG), 100% for glycerol formal (GF), and 100% for combined PG and GF and water in proportions of 3:2:5 and 3:2:4. In vitro evaluation using immature F. hepatica showed that Ca induced 100% efficacy 24 hours after solubilization with either GF or GF combined with PG and water. The efficacy in sheep was 56.4 and 68.4% at 1 and 2 mg/kg respectively; whereas 1 mg/kg of sulphoxide metabolite induced an efficacy of 73.9%. The HPLC assays performed showed no evidence of the sulphoxide and sulphone metabolites. It is concluded that besides solubility and high in vitro fasciolicidal efficacy, the in vivo results in sheep showed only a moderate efficacy.

El compuesto alfa es un derivado bencimidazólico de gran eficacia fasciolicida, que se ingiere vía oral, su solubilización constituye una alternativa para obtener una formulación inyectable. Los objetivos de este estudio fueron: evaluar la solubilidad del compuesto alfa, determinar la eficacia fasciolicida in vitro y en ovinos experimentalmente infectados. Los ensayos de solubilidad que fueron cuantificados mediante cromatografía de líquidos de alta resolución, mostraron que la betaciclodextrina e hidroxipropil-betaciclodextrina solubilizaron en 0.051% y 1.018%. Esta última se evaluó con cinco concentraciones, mostró que a 5.8 mg la solubilidad fue 3.95%; hidroxipropil-betaciclodextrina y metanol, 10.76%; propilén-glicol, 39.048%; glicerol formal, 100%; y glicerol formal con propilén-glicol y agua en proporciones 3:2:5 y 3:2:4, 100%. La evaluación in vitro con fasciolas inmaduras mostró que el compuesto con glicerol formal y la combinación de vehículos a las 24 horas fueron eficaces en 100%. La eficacia in vivo en ovinos mostró que el compuesto alfa a dosis de 1 mg/kg fue de 56.46%, a 2 mg/kg de 68.4% y con sulfóxido del compuesto alfa a 1 mg/kg de 73.9%. No se encontró el compuesto alfa ni sus metabolitos sulfóxido y sulfona en el suero determinado por medio del cromatógrafo de líquidos de alta resolución. Se concluye que a pesar de obtener solubilidad del compuesto alfa y alta eficacia fasciolicida in vitro, los resultados in vivo en ovinos revelaron eficacia moderada.