Background
Visceral Leishmaniasis in humans presents with fever, anemia, and splenomegaly and can be lethal if not treated. Nevertheless, the majority of
Leishmania infantum
-infected individuals does not manifest symptoms and remain so provided they are not immunosuppressed. In this work, the performance of different tests was evaluated to detect asymptomatic individuals who were living in Teresina, Piauí state, Brazil, an endemic area for VL.
Methodology
L
.
infantum
-specific antibodies were detected by ELISA and two different rapid immunochromatographic (IC) diagnostic tests, Kalazar Detect and OnSite, and parasitic loads were detected by real time PCR [qPCR]. Additionally, we measured levels of the biomarkers monokine induced by IFN-γ (MIG) and IFN-γ-induced protein 10 (IP-10) before and after stimulation of whole blood with soluble
Leishmania
antigen [SLA].
Principal findings
Kalazar Detect and OnSite detected, respectively, 76% and 64% of patients presenting with active Visceral Leishmaniasis; 50% and 57% of patients remained positive in these tests, respectively, after treatment. Of the healthy participants in the study who were living in the endemic area, only 1.7% were positive with both of the IC tests. On the other hand, reactivity in ELISA tests revealed that 13% of these individuals presented asymptomatic infections; among VL patients, 84% presenting with active disease were reactive in ELISA, and after treatment, 55.5% were seropositive.
L
.
infantum
DNA was present in the blood of 37.9% of infected individuals living in the endemic area, while IP-10 and MIG biomarkers were detected in 26.7% of them. The greatest concordance of positivity occurred between ELISA and qPCR.
Conclusion
The association of different techniques can detect asymptomatic infections, however, more research is necessary to develop ideal biomarkers that are simple to use in the clinic and in field studies in areas endemic for Visceral Leishmaniasis.
Background:
Alpha-terpineol is a monoterpene alcohol with anti-tumor activity against different tumor cell lines (lung, breast, leukemias and colorectal) through blockage of NF-kB expression, which play an important role in tumor cells growth.
Objective:
Evaluate the antitumor activity of alpha-terpineol in murine Sarcoma 180 cell line
Methods:
For the tests, different cytotoxic and genotoxic assays were used, including Trypan blue, cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus assay, comet assay, agarose gel DNA fragmentation, flow cytometry and cell viability using fluorescence. Ascitic fluid cells from sarcoma 180 were obtained from Mus musculus peritoneal cavity and Alpha-terpineol was tested at 100, 250 and 500 μg/mL. Doxorubicin and Cisplatin were used as positive controls.
Results:
Cytotoxic effects of alpha-terpineol were found in all concentrations tested, reducing cell viability in 50.9; 38.53; 30.82% at 100, 250 and 500 μg/mL, respectively. Alpha-terpineol induced genotoxic effects due to DNA fragmentation (increased frequency and index of damage), and was clastogenic by increased micronuclei formation, nucleoplasmic bridges and nuclear buds. DNA fragmentation and increased cell death indicated that alpha-terpineol can cause early, late, and necrotic apoptosis.
Conclusion:
Our data indicate that alpha-terpineol has antitumor activity revealed by cytogenetic mechanisms and / or loss of cell membrane integrity.
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