The influence of high glucose conditions on macrophages and its effect on the autophagy pathway.

Introduction: Macrophages are central cells in mediating the inflammatory response. Objective and Methods: We evaluated the effect of high glucose conditions on the inflammatory profile and the autophagy pathway in Bone-Marrow Derived Macrophages (BMDM) from diabetic (D-BMDM) (alloxan: 60mg/kg, i.v.) and non-diabetic (ND-BMDM) C57BL/6 mice. BMDM were cultured in medium with normal glucose (5.5 mM), or high glucose (25 mM) concentration and were primed with Nigericin (20µM) stimulated with LPS (100 ng/mL) at times of 30 minutes; 2; 4; 6 and 24 hours, with the measurement of IL-6, IL-1ß and TNF-α cytokines. Results: We have further identified changes in the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-1ß and TNF-α, where BMDM showed increased secretion of these cytokines after LPS + Nigericin stimulation. In addition, changes were observed in the autophagy pathway, where the increase in the autophagic protein LC3b and Beclin-1 occurred by macrophages of non-diabetic animals in hyperglycemic medium, without LPS stimulation. D-BMDM showed a reduction on the expression of LC3b and Beclin-1, suggesting an impaired autophagic process in these cells. Conclusion: The results suggest that hyperglycemia alters the inflammatory pathways in macrophages stimulated by LPS, playing an important role in the inflammatory response of diabetic individuals.

Molecular epidemiology of human bocavirus in children with acute gastroenteritis from North Region of Brazil.

PURPOSE: Human bocavirus (HBoV) is a DNA virus that is mostly associated with respiratory infections. However, because it has been found in stool samples, it has been suggested that it may be a causative agent for human enteric conditions. This underpins the continuous search for HBoVs, especially after the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine due to acute gastroenteritis cases related to emergent viruses, as HBoVs are more likely to be found in this post-vaccine scenario. Therefore, the aim of this study is to demonstrate the prevalence of HBoV in children aged less than 10 years with acute gastroenteritis in Brazil from November 2011 to November 2012. METHODOLOGY: Stool samples from hospitalized children ≤10 years old who presented symptoms of acute gastroenteritis were analysed for the presence of rotavirus A (RVA) by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and for HBoV DNA by nested PCR. RESULTS: HBoV positivity was detected in 24.0 % (54/225) of samples. Two peaks of HBoV detection were observed in November 2011 and from July to September 2012. Co-infections between HBoV and rotavirus A were identified in 50.0 % (27/54) of specimens. Phylogenetic analysis identified the presence of HBoV-1 (94.8 %), HBoV-2 (2.6 %) and HBoV-3 (2.6 %) species, with only minor variations among them. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide evidence for the circulation of most HBoV genotypes (except HBoV-4) in the North Region of Brazil at a considerable rate and further investigations are necessary to improve our knowledge in the context of HBoV infections and their role in gastrointestinal diseases.