SUMMARYWe report a case of severe toxoplasmosis in an immunocompetent patient, characterized by pneumonia, retinochoroiditis, hepatitis and myositis. Diagnosis was confirmed by serology, T. gondii in thick blood smear and presence of bradyzoites in muscle biopsy. Treatment with pyrimethamine plus sulfadoxine was successful but visual acuity and hip extension were partially recovered. This is the first case report of severe toxoplasmosis in an immunocompetent patient from Peru.
Objetivos: Determinar la actividad anti Trypanosoma cruzi in vitro de los aceites esenciales de 10 plantas medicinales. Además, determinar la actividad citotóxica de los aceites contra células de mamíferos y la actividad modulatoria de los aceites sobre el óxido nítrico. Diseño: Estudio experimental in vitro. Institución: Instituto de Investigaciones Clínicas e Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Perú. Material biológico: Epimastigotes de Trypanosoma cruzi, células Raw 264.7, aceites esenciales de Mentha X piperita L (menta), Rosmarinus officinalis L (romero), Chenopodium ambrosioides L (paico), Eucaliptus globulus Labill (eucalipto), Artemisia absinthium L (ajenjo), Melissa officinalis L (toronjil), Minthostachys setosa Brig (muña), Cimbopogon citratus (hierba luisa), Aloysia triphylla (cedrón) y Mentha spicata L (hierba buena). Método: La actividad tripanocida se evaluó contra epimastigotes cultivados en medio LIT, incubados por 48 horas a 37ºC en incubador humidificado con CO2 al 5%. El cristal violeta se utilizó como control positivo. La actividad citotóxica de los productos contra células mamíferas se evaluó en células RAW 264.7 y la actividad modulatoria de los compuestos sobre óxido nítrico también se determinó en los cultivos de células RAW 264.7. Principales medidas de resultados: Porcentaje de inhibición de viabilidad y CI50. Resultados: Los aceites esenciales de Cymbopogon citratus (hierba luisa) y Aloysia triphylla (cedrón) inhibieron significativamente el crecimiento de la forma epimastigote de T. cruzi, con una CI50 de 63,09 y 96,49 μg/mL, respectivamente. No hubo variación significativa de la concentración de óxido nítrico y tampoco se evidenció citotoxicidad. Conclusiones: Los aceites esenciales de Cymbopogon citratus y Aloysia triphylla mostraron actividad anti-Trypanosoma cruzi in vitro y no fueron citotóxicas para las células mamíferas.
The immunogenicity of Bothrops atrox, “jergón”, venom was studied using ELISA and Western Blot methods, as well as cross-reactivity patterns against venoms of Bothrops brazili, Lachesis muta and Crotalus durissus. For this purpose, New Zealand white rabbits (2 kg aprox) were immunized with four 500 μg doses of B. atrox venom in a period of 90 days. Antibody production was followed using ELISA technique, and title of hiper-immune serum was determined at the end of immunization protocol. Additionally, electrophoretic patterns of venoms were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and venom reactivity against obtained serum by ELISA and Western Blot. Immunization schedule allowed a pronounced antibody production since day 20 of protocol. At the end of process, serum title was 256000, which demonstrated both efficacy and usefulness of the developed procedure. On the other hand, studied venoms showed a heterogenic protein composition according to their electrophoretic patterns, whereas cross-reactivity values of 23,7%, 4,0% and 1,8% were obtained between B. atrox venom and B. brazili, L. muta and C. durissus venoms, respectively, using immunoenzymatic methods. According to our results, this procedure constitutes an initial step for further assays directed to optimization in immunoserum production for envenoming treatment and development of kits for diagnosis and species identification of snakes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.