Prevalence and clinical aspects of CMV congenital Infection in a low-income population.

BACKGROUND: CMV is the most common cause of congenital infection in the whole world (0.2 to 2.2 %). That infection may be symptomatic or asymptomatic at birth and, although asymptomatic cases at birth are more common, some children may develop late sequelae, and require medical intervention. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of CMV congenital infections in children who were born in a public hospital in Ilhéus, Brazil, and to evaluate the clinical progression in infected newborns. METHODS: CMV congenital infection was determined by detecting viral DNA through nested PCR. RESULTS: The viral DNA was detected in 25 newborns, showing a prevalence of 1.19 % (25/2100) of CMV congenital infection. In regards to the risk factors from mothers, only the variables: age of mothers (p = 0.003), number of children (p = 0.011), and use of medications (p < 0.001) were associated with the congenital infection. Approximately 12 % of children presented symptoms. One death and two auditory alterations were detected during the monitored period. Only 50 % of children diagnosed attended their medical follow. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence found confirms the findings from other studies which involved other poor populations. Two children presented impaired hearing during the monitored period; that was one of the main sequelae from the infection. It is noteworthy that there was low adherence to medical follow-up which may underestimate data on complications of the infection CMV. Late symptoms can be mistaken for other diseases or even go unnoticed.

Inhibition of extracellular traps by spores of Trichoderma stromaticum on neutrophils obtained from human peripheral blood.

Although the genus Trichoderma is widely used as a biocontrol agent in crops, little is known about its potential impact on the human immune system. In mice, our group has shown that exposition to T. asperelloides spores lead to reduced neutrophil counts in the peripheral blood and in the peritoneal cavity. In addition, T. stromaticum spores produced an inflammatory infiltrate on mice lungs, reducing the levels of IFN-γ and IL-10 cytokines, reactive oxygen species, and receptors of microbial patterns. Here we demonstrate that the interaction of human peripheral neutrophils with T. stromaticum spores also leads to a reduced release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) after induction with the NET-inducer agent phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. This interaction also reduced the expression levels of multiple microRNAs, such as miR-221, miR-222, miR-223 and miR-27a, as well as genes related to NETs, such as ELANE, MPO and PADI4. Furthermore, T. stromaticum spores affected the expression of the genes SOCS3, TLR4, CSNK2A1, GSDMD, and NFFKBIA, related to the activation of inflammatory immune responses in neutrophils. Overall, our results suggest T. stromaticum as a potential NET inhibitor and as an immunomodulatory agent. Since this fungus is used as biocontrol in crops, our findings point to the importance of advancing our knowledge on the effects of this bioagent on the human immune system. Finally, the study of the active compounds produced by the fungus is also important for the prospection of new drugs that could be used to block the exacerbation of inflammatory immune responses present in several human diseases.

Succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors fungicides: a review of their impact on human health and epigenetic changes / Fungicidas inibidores da succinato desidrogenase: uma revisao de seu impacto na saúde humana e alterares epigenéticas / Fungicidas inhibidores de la succinato deshidrogenasa: una revisión de su impacto en la salud humana y los cambios epigenéticos

Abstract Succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs), fungicides currently most used in agriculture in Brazil, act by blocking the enzyme succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) from plant pathogens. However, studies show that SDHIs can not only inhibit SDH activity in target fungi, but also block that activity in human cells. Considering the medical and agricultural implications of SDH, the purpose of this narrative review is to describe the relationship between exposure to fungicides SDHIs and epigenetic regulation of SDH associated with the development of gastrointestinal stromal tumor, pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma, and cancer. The results obtained with the research showed that the human SDH enzyme exhibited sensitivity to some tested SDHIs, which may cause microcephaly and defects in neurological development. Deficiency of SDH activity causes accumulation of succinate which can act as an oncometabolite inhibit-ing iron-dependent dioxygenases and alpha-ketoglutarate, eleven translocation -TET and histone demethylases, inducing epigenetic changes that lead to multiple cancers and other diseases. Therefore, further in vitro and in vivo analyzes should be performed to assess susceptibility to diseases influenced by the toxic effect of SDHIs.

Resumo Os inibidores da succinato desidrogenase (SDHIs), fungicidas atualmente mais utilizados na agricultura no Brasil, atuam bloqueando a enzima succinato desidrogenase (SDH) de fitopatógenos. No entanto, estudos mostram que SDHIs podem nao apenas inibir a atividade de SDH em fungos alvo, mas também bloquear essa atividade em células humanas. Considerando as implicares médicas e agrícolas do SDH, o objetivo desta revisao narrativa é descrever a relaqao entre a exposiqao a fungicidas SDHIs e a regulaqao epigenética do SDH associada ao desenvolvimento de tumor estromal gastrointestinal, feocromocitoma/paraganglioma e cáncer. Os resultados obtidos com a pesquisa mostraram que a enzima SDH humana apresentou sensibilidade a alguns SDHIs testados, que podem causar microcefalia e defeitos no desenvolvimento neurológico. A deficiencia da atividade da SDH causa acumulo de succinato que pode atuar como um oncometabólito inibindo as dioxigenases dependentes de ferro e alfa-cetoglutarato, onze translocaqóes -TET e histonas desmetilases, induzindo alteraqóes epigenéticas que levam a múltiplos canceres e outras doenqas. Portanto, análises adicionais in vitro e in vivo devem ser realizadas para avaliar a suscetibilidade a doenqas influenciadas pelo efeito tóxico dos SDHIs.

Resumen Los inhibidores de la succinato deshidrogenasa (SDHI), los fungicidas actualmente más utilizados en la agricultura en Brasil, actúan bloqueando la enzima succinato deshidrogenasa (SDH) de los patógenos de las plantas. Sin embargo, los estudios muestran que los SDHI no solo pueden inhibir la actividad de SDH en los hongos objetivo, sino que también bloquean esa actividad en las células humanas. Teniendo en cuenta las implicaciones médicas y agrícolas de SDH, el propósito de esta revisión narrativa es describir la relación entre la exposición a fungicidas SDHI y la regulación epigenética de SDH asociada con el desarrollo de tumores del estro-ma gastrointestinal, feocromocitoma/paraganglioma y cáncer. Los resultados obtenidos con la investigación mostraron que la enzima SDH humana mostró sensibilidad a algunos SDHI probados, lo que puede causar microcefalia y defectos en el desarrollo neurológico. La deficiencia de la actividad de SDH provoca la acumulación de succinato que puede actuar como un oncometabolito que inhibe las dioxigenasas dependientes de hierro y el alfa-cetoglutarato, once translocaciones -TET e histona desmetilasas, induciendo cambios epigenéticos que conducen a múltiples cánceres y otras enfermedades. Por lo tanto, se deben realizar más análisis in vitro e in vivo para evaluar la susceptibilidad a enfermedades influenciadas por el efecto tóxico de los SDHI.