Natural Killer Cell Receptors and Endometriosis: A Systematic Review.

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disorder, characterized by the presence of endometrial cells outside the uterine cavity. An increasing number of studies correlate the immune system with endometriosis, particularly NK receptors (NKR), which have been suggested to play an essential role in the pathogenesis of the disease. This systematic review aims to enlighten the role of NKR in endometriosis. A literature search was performed independently by two reviewers, to identify studies assessing the role of NKR in endometriosis. In total, 18 studies were included. Endometriosis pathogenesis seems to be marked by the overexpression of NK inhibitor receptors (KIRS), namely, CD158a+, KIR2DL1, CD94/NKG2A, PD-1, NKB1, and EB6, and inhibiting ligands such as PD-L1, HLA-E, HLA-G, and HLA-I. Concurrently, there is a decrease in NK-activating receptors and natural cytotoxicity receptors (NCRs), such as NKp46, NKp30, and NKG2D. The immune shift from NK surveillance to NK suppression is also apparent in the greater relative number of ITIM domains compared with ITAM domains in NKRs. In conclusion, NK receptor activity seems to dictate the immunocompetency of women to clear endometriotic cells from the peritoneal cavity. Future research could explore NKRs as therapeutic targets, such as that which is now well established in cancer therapy through immunotherapy.

Rapid test to detect cytotoxic activity in vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease / Prova rápida para detectar atividade citotóxica em vacinas para febre aftosa

Substances with cytotoxic activity present in vaccines against the foot-and-mouth disease may interfere with methods used to detect residual live virus in the product or cause undesirable postvaccination reactions. This study describes a rapid in vitro test to detect cytotoxic activity in water-in-oil vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease using a commercial saponin as a cytotoxic agent and a solution of sheep's red blood cells as substrate. Hemolytic and cytotoxic activity was analyzed using experimental and commercial vaccines prepared with and without saponin. The hemolytic and cytotoxic potential of preparations containing saponin was evident. In contrast, hemolytic and cytotoxic activities were not observed in vaccines without saponin in their composition. The method described here allows to easily detect if the vaccine under study has cytotoxic activity, making it possible to select the most appropriate method to process the sample to be used for the innocuity test. Additionally, due to undesirable effects that may be observed in animals receiving vaccines containing saponin in their formulation, the use of the rapid test described here allows to identify those vaccines with cytotoxic activity and to verify the presence of saponin on them, through the mass spectrometry method.(AU)

Substâncias com atividade citotóxica presentes em vacinas contra febre aftosa podem interferir com o método utilizado para a detecção de vírus ativo residual no produto ou causar reações pós-vacinais indesejáveis. O presente trabalho descreve uma prova rápida in vitro para detectar atividade citotóxica em vacinas oleosas contra febre aftosa utilizando uma saponina comercial como agente citotóxico e uma solução de hemácias de carneiro como substrato. Analisaram-se as atividades hemolítica e citotóxica utilizando-se vacinas experimentais e comerciais preparadas com e sem saponina. O potencial hemolítico e citotóxico dos preparados que continham saponina na sua formulação foi evidente. Em contraste, não se observou atividade hemolítica e citotóxica nas vacinas sem saponina. O método descrito permite conhecer rapidamente se a vacina em estudo apresenta atividade citotóxica e, dessa maneira, selecionar o método mais adequado para processar a amostra que será utilizada para investigar a presença de vírus ativo residual. Adicionalmente, devido aos efeitos indesejáveis que podem ser observados em animais que recebem vacinas que contêm saponina na sua formulação, o uso da prova rápida descrita permite selecionar aquelas vacinas com atividade citotóxica para posteriormente verificar a presença de saponina através de técnicas analíticas como a espectrometria de massas.(AU)

Acute myocardial infarction in the puerperium.

The authors describe the case of a forty-two-year-old patient with acute myocardial infarction (MI) on the third day of puerperium, who underwent direct angioplasty. The authors review the main physiological cardiovascular and hemostatic changes in pregnancy, which are usually well tolerated but which increase the probability of cardiovascular events when risk factors or previous cardiac disease are associated. Blood volume and cardiac output increase by around 50% during pregnancy, hemoglobin concentration falls, and reduced peripheral vascular resistance leads to a fall in arterial blood pressure during the first half of pregnancy. End-diastolic pressure, stroke volume and cardiac output increase in the immediate puerperium, and cardiovascular risk is highest in the perinatal period. The incidence of MI during pregnancy and puerperium is low; however, it is on the increase due to the growing number of pregnancies in women close to the end of their reproductive age.

Vacinação emergencial de bovinos contra a febre aftosa

Experimentou-se a utilização de uma vacina monovalente formulada com antigeno da cepa O1 Campos e saponina como adjuvante, para vacinação emergencial de bovinos em áreas livres de febre aftosa. Os resultados obtidos demonstram vários aspectos favoráveis à sua recomendação.

Vacinação emergencial de bovinos contra a febre aftosa / Emergency vaccination of foot and mouth disease in cattle

Experimentou-se a utilização de uma vacina monovalente formulada com antigeno da cepa O1 Campos e saponina como adjuvante, para vacinação emergencial de bovinos em áreas livres de febre aftosa. Os resultados obtidos demonstran vários aspectos favoráveis à sua recomendação