<p>Percentages of Treg cells (defined as CD4+FoxP3+CD25+) in PBMC from <b>A.</b>... more <p>Percentages of Treg cells (defined as CD4+FoxP3+CD25+) in PBMC from <b>A.</b> HIV-TB and <b>B.</b> HD individuals stimulated with <i>M. tuberculosis</i> antigen in the presence or absence of DHEA at the indicated concentrations for 3 days. Bars indicate the mean ± SEM for each experimental condition. <b>C and D.</b> Relative FoxP3 Median florescence intensity (MFI) in Treg lymphocytes from <b>C.</b> HIV-TB patients and <b>D.</b> HD volunteers after culturing PBMC as detailed in A. Bars indicate the mean ± SEM for each treatment. Data are representative of four different experiments. *: <i>p</i> < 0.05; **: <i>p</i> < 0.01. <b>E.</b> Representative flow cytometry graphs depicting the results obtained from culturing PBMC from HIV-TB and HD individuals as indicated above.</p
<p>Analysis of CD4+FoxP3+CD25+ and CD4+FoxP3+CD25- populations within Treg in <b>A;&l... more <p>Analysis of CD4+FoxP3+CD25+ and CD4+FoxP3+CD25- populations within Treg in <b>A;</b> HIV-TB (n = 11), <b>B;</b> IRIS (n = 5), <b>C;</b> HIV-LTB (n = 4), <b>D;</b> HD (n = 10) and <b>E;</b> HIV (n = 7) individuals. Horizontal lines inside the boxes indicate the means ± SEM of each group. Asterisks denote comparisons between each sub-population. *: p < 0.05; **: p < 0.01; ***: p< 0.001. <b>F.</b> Spearman correlation analysis between plasma DHEA and the percentage of CD4+FoxP3+CD25- lymphocytes from all grouped patients (HIV+, HIV-TB, IRIS, HIV-LTB and HD). Results of statistical analysis are shown in the graphic.</p
The less mucoid strain of Brucella canis or M- strain is used for the serologic diagnosis of cani... more The less mucoid strain of Brucella canis or M- strain is used for the serologic diagnosis of canine brucellosis. While this strain is avirulent in dogs, we report the case of clinical brucellosis that developed in a laboratory worker a few days after handling live M- cells for antigen production. Brucella canis is the causative agent of canine brucellosis, which causes contagious abortion, orchiepididymitis, and uveitis. Transmission to human requires close contact with infected animals or bacterial cultures. Symptomatic human infections are rare, probably because of the low virulence of B. canis; 31 human cases have been reported (1). In contrast to other Brucella species, which are pathogenic for humans (B. abortus, B. melitensis, B. suis) and yield smooth colonies, B. canis colonies are naturally rough. Therefore, serologic tests that use suspensions of smooth brucellae are not useful in diagnosing B. canis infections (2). Since suspensions of wild-type B. canis tend to aggregate...
A case of prepatellar bursitis in a man with chronic brucellosis is presented. Brucella abortus b... more A case of prepatellar bursitis in a man with chronic brucellosis is presented. Brucella abortus biotype 1 was isolated from the abundant yellowish fluid obtained from the bursa. Clinical and epidemiological data did not suggest a direct inoculation of the agent in the bursa. However, the patient mentioned occasional local trauma due to recreational sports, which may have constituted a predisposing factor. As determined by ELISA, there were higher levels of IgG against Brucella LPS and cytosolic proteins detected in the patient’s bursal synovial fluid when compared with serum. Levels of proinflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 1 beta, gamma interferon, interleukin 8 and MCP-1) were higher than in synovial fluids obtained from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and a patient with septic arthritis, and a zymographic analysis revealed a gelatinase of about 92 kDa. These findings indicate that it may be possible to diagnose brucellar bursitis by measuring spec...
Rhodococcus sp. is a microorganism historically known as a cause of zoonotic diseases. It is an i... more Rhodococcus sp. is a microorganism historically known as a cause of zoonotic diseases. It is an infrequent human pathogen that typically manifests as cavitary pneumonia. However, Rhododoccus gene can also produce systemic disease with multi-organic involvement. In the past decades, it has emerged as an opportunistic bacteria affecting predominantly immunocompromised patients. Here, we report a case of an HIV-positive patient who developed a disseminated disease due to Rhodococcus sp. with central nervous system involvement.
SummaryEpidemiological and clinical aspects of Brucella suis infection in 17 workers from a pork ... more SummaryEpidemiological and clinical aspects of Brucella suis infection in 17 workers from a pork processing plant in Argentina occurring between January 2014 and July 2015 are presented. All patients reported working 9 h daily without adequate personal protection garment. Blood cultures were positive for Brucella spp. in 14 of the 17 patients (82.3%). All isolates were identified as B. suis biovar 1. Although fever, sweats, asthenia, myalgia and hepatic involvement were the most frequent clinical manifestations, an unusually high incidence of respiratory involvement was found. From 13 patients in which chest radiography was performed, four (30%) had radiological abnormalities, including lobar pneumonia in two cases (one with pleural effusion) and interstitial involvement in other two. The high frequency of respiratory involvement in our series makes necessary to consider brucellosis in the differential diagnosis of respiratory diseases in pork processing plant employees.
ABSTRACTThe strategies that allowBrucella abortusto survive inside macrophages for prolonged peri... more ABSTRACTThe strategies that allowBrucella abortusto survive inside macrophages for prolonged periods and to avoid the immunological surveillance of major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II)-restricted gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-producing CD4+T lymphocytes are poorly understood. We report here that infection of THP-1 cells withB. abortusinhibited expression of MHC-II molecules and antigen (Ag) processing. Heat-killedB. abortus(HKBA) also induced both these phenomena, indicating the independence of bacterial viability and involvement of a structural component of the bacterium. Accordingly, outer membrane protein 19 (Omp19), a prototypicalB. abortuslipoprotein, inhibited both MHC-II expression and Ag processing to the same extent as HKBA. Moreover, a synthetic lipohexapeptide that mimics the structure of the protein lipid moiety also inhibited MHC-II expression, indicating that anyBrucellalipoprotein could down-modulate MHC-II expression and Ag processing. Inhibition of MHC-II e...
A case of prepatellar bursitis in a man with chronic brucellosis is presented. Brucella abortus b... more A case of prepatellar bursitis in a man with chronic brucellosis is presented. Brucella abortus biotype 1 was isolated from the abundant yellowish fluid obtained from the bursa. Clinical and epidemiological data did not suggest a direct inoculation of the agent in the bursa. However, the patient mentioned occasional local trauma due to recreational sports, which may have constituted a predisposing factor. As determined by ELISA, there were higher levels of IgG against Brucella LPS and cytosolic proteins detected in the patient's bursal synovial fluid when compared with serum. Levels of proinflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 1 beta, gamma interferon, interleukin 8 and MCP-1) were higher than in synovial fluids obtained from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and a patient with septic arthritis, and a zymographic analysis revealed a gelatinase of about 92 kDa. These findings indicate that it may be possible to diagnose brucellar bursitis by measuring ...
Clinical and diagnostic laboratory immunology, 1999
The diagnosis of human neurobrucellosis usually relies on the detection of antibodies to Brucella... more The diagnosis of human neurobrucellosis usually relies on the detection of antibodies to Brucella lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by agglutination tests or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Here we describe the detection of immunoglobulin G (IgG) to cytoplasmic proteins (CP) of Brucella spp. by ELISA and Western blotting in seven CSF samples from five patients with neurobrucellosis. While IgG to CP (titers of 200 to 12, 800) and IgG to LPS (800 to 6,400) were found in the CSF of these patients, these antibodies were not detected in CSF samples from two patients who had systemic brucellosis without neurological involvement. The latter, however, had serum IgG and IgM to both LPS and CP. No reactivity to these antigens was found in CSF samples from 14 and 20 patients suffering from nonbrucellar meningitis and noninfectious diseases, respectively. These findings suggest that, in addition to its usefulness in the serological diagnosis of human systemic bruc...
<p>Percentages of Treg cells (defined as CD4+FoxP3+CD25+) in PBMC from <b>A.</b>... more <p>Percentages of Treg cells (defined as CD4+FoxP3+CD25+) in PBMC from <b>A.</b> HIV-TB and <b>B.</b> HD individuals stimulated with <i>M. tuberculosis</i> antigen in the presence or absence of DHEA at the indicated concentrations for 3 days. Bars indicate the mean ± SEM for each experimental condition. <b>C and D.</b> Relative FoxP3 Median florescence intensity (MFI) in Treg lymphocytes from <b>C.</b> HIV-TB patients and <b>D.</b> HD volunteers after culturing PBMC as detailed in A. Bars indicate the mean ± SEM for each treatment. Data are representative of four different experiments. *: <i>p</i> < 0.05; **: <i>p</i> < 0.01. <b>E.</b> Representative flow cytometry graphs depicting the results obtained from culturing PBMC from HIV-TB and HD individuals as indicated above.</p
<p>Analysis of CD4+FoxP3+CD25+ and CD4+FoxP3+CD25- populations within Treg in <b>A;&l... more <p>Analysis of CD4+FoxP3+CD25+ and CD4+FoxP3+CD25- populations within Treg in <b>A;</b> HIV-TB (n = 11), <b>B;</b> IRIS (n = 5), <b>C;</b> HIV-LTB (n = 4), <b>D;</b> HD (n = 10) and <b>E;</b> HIV (n = 7) individuals. Horizontal lines inside the boxes indicate the means ± SEM of each group. Asterisks denote comparisons between each sub-population. *: p < 0.05; **: p < 0.01; ***: p< 0.001. <b>F.</b> Spearman correlation analysis between plasma DHEA and the percentage of CD4+FoxP3+CD25- lymphocytes from all grouped patients (HIV+, HIV-TB, IRIS, HIV-LTB and HD). Results of statistical analysis are shown in the graphic.</p
The less mucoid strain of Brucella canis or M- strain is used for the serologic diagnosis of cani... more The less mucoid strain of Brucella canis or M- strain is used for the serologic diagnosis of canine brucellosis. While this strain is avirulent in dogs, we report the case of clinical brucellosis that developed in a laboratory worker a few days after handling live M- cells for antigen production. Brucella canis is the causative agent of canine brucellosis, which causes contagious abortion, orchiepididymitis, and uveitis. Transmission to human requires close contact with infected animals or bacterial cultures. Symptomatic human infections are rare, probably because of the low virulence of B. canis; 31 human cases have been reported (1). In contrast to other Brucella species, which are pathogenic for humans (B. abortus, B. melitensis, B. suis) and yield smooth colonies, B. canis colonies are naturally rough. Therefore, serologic tests that use suspensions of smooth brucellae are not useful in diagnosing B. canis infections (2). Since suspensions of wild-type B. canis tend to aggregate...
A case of prepatellar bursitis in a man with chronic brucellosis is presented. Brucella abortus b... more A case of prepatellar bursitis in a man with chronic brucellosis is presented. Brucella abortus biotype 1 was isolated from the abundant yellowish fluid obtained from the bursa. Clinical and epidemiological data did not suggest a direct inoculation of the agent in the bursa. However, the patient mentioned occasional local trauma due to recreational sports, which may have constituted a predisposing factor. As determined by ELISA, there were higher levels of IgG against Brucella LPS and cytosolic proteins detected in the patient’s bursal synovial fluid when compared with serum. Levels of proinflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 1 beta, gamma interferon, interleukin 8 and MCP-1) were higher than in synovial fluids obtained from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and a patient with septic arthritis, and a zymographic analysis revealed a gelatinase of about 92 kDa. These findings indicate that it may be possible to diagnose brucellar bursitis by measuring spec...
Rhodococcus sp. is a microorganism historically known as a cause of zoonotic diseases. It is an i... more Rhodococcus sp. is a microorganism historically known as a cause of zoonotic diseases. It is an infrequent human pathogen that typically manifests as cavitary pneumonia. However, Rhododoccus gene can also produce systemic disease with multi-organic involvement. In the past decades, it has emerged as an opportunistic bacteria affecting predominantly immunocompromised patients. Here, we report a case of an HIV-positive patient who developed a disseminated disease due to Rhodococcus sp. with central nervous system involvement.
SummaryEpidemiological and clinical aspects of Brucella suis infection in 17 workers from a pork ... more SummaryEpidemiological and clinical aspects of Brucella suis infection in 17 workers from a pork processing plant in Argentina occurring between January 2014 and July 2015 are presented. All patients reported working 9 h daily without adequate personal protection garment. Blood cultures were positive for Brucella spp. in 14 of the 17 patients (82.3%). All isolates were identified as B. suis biovar 1. Although fever, sweats, asthenia, myalgia and hepatic involvement were the most frequent clinical manifestations, an unusually high incidence of respiratory involvement was found. From 13 patients in which chest radiography was performed, four (30%) had radiological abnormalities, including lobar pneumonia in two cases (one with pleural effusion) and interstitial involvement in other two. The high frequency of respiratory involvement in our series makes necessary to consider brucellosis in the differential diagnosis of respiratory diseases in pork processing plant employees.
ABSTRACTThe strategies that allowBrucella abortusto survive inside macrophages for prolonged peri... more ABSTRACTThe strategies that allowBrucella abortusto survive inside macrophages for prolonged periods and to avoid the immunological surveillance of major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II)-restricted gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-producing CD4+T lymphocytes are poorly understood. We report here that infection of THP-1 cells withB. abortusinhibited expression of MHC-II molecules and antigen (Ag) processing. Heat-killedB. abortus(HKBA) also induced both these phenomena, indicating the independence of bacterial viability and involvement of a structural component of the bacterium. Accordingly, outer membrane protein 19 (Omp19), a prototypicalB. abortuslipoprotein, inhibited both MHC-II expression and Ag processing to the same extent as HKBA. Moreover, a synthetic lipohexapeptide that mimics the structure of the protein lipid moiety also inhibited MHC-II expression, indicating that anyBrucellalipoprotein could down-modulate MHC-II expression and Ag processing. Inhibition of MHC-II e...
A case of prepatellar bursitis in a man with chronic brucellosis is presented. Brucella abortus b... more A case of prepatellar bursitis in a man with chronic brucellosis is presented. Brucella abortus biotype 1 was isolated from the abundant yellowish fluid obtained from the bursa. Clinical and epidemiological data did not suggest a direct inoculation of the agent in the bursa. However, the patient mentioned occasional local trauma due to recreational sports, which may have constituted a predisposing factor. As determined by ELISA, there were higher levels of IgG against Brucella LPS and cytosolic proteins detected in the patient's bursal synovial fluid when compared with serum. Levels of proinflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 1 beta, gamma interferon, interleukin 8 and MCP-1) were higher than in synovial fluids obtained from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and a patient with septic arthritis, and a zymographic analysis revealed a gelatinase of about 92 kDa. These findings indicate that it may be possible to diagnose brucellar bursitis by measuring ...
Clinical and diagnostic laboratory immunology, 1999
The diagnosis of human neurobrucellosis usually relies on the detection of antibodies to Brucella... more The diagnosis of human neurobrucellosis usually relies on the detection of antibodies to Brucella lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by agglutination tests or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Here we describe the detection of immunoglobulin G (IgG) to cytoplasmic proteins (CP) of Brucella spp. by ELISA and Western blotting in seven CSF samples from five patients with neurobrucellosis. While IgG to CP (titers of 200 to 12, 800) and IgG to LPS (800 to 6,400) were found in the CSF of these patients, these antibodies were not detected in CSF samples from two patients who had systemic brucellosis without neurological involvement. The latter, however, had serum IgG and IgM to both LPS and CP. No reactivity to these antigens was found in CSF samples from 14 and 20 patients suffering from nonbrucellar meningitis and noninfectious diseases, respectively. These findings suggest that, in addition to its usefulness in the serological diagnosis of human systemic bruc...
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