LUIZ FELIPE DOMINGUES PASSERO
Projetos de Pesquisa
Unidades Organizacionais
LIM/50 - Laboratório de Patologia das Moléstias Infecciosas, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina
10 resultados
Resultados de Busca
Agora exibindo 1 - 10 de 10
- Salivary gland homogenates from wild-caught sand flies Lutzomyia flaviscutellata and Lutzomyia (Psychodopygus) complexus showed inhibitory effects on Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis and Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis infection in BALB/c mice(2014) FRANCESQUINI, Fernanda C.; SILVEIRA, Fernando T.; PASSERO, Luiz Felipe D.; TOMOKANE, Thaise Y.; CARVALHO, Ana Kely; CORBETT, Carlos Eduardo P.; LAURENTI, Marcia D.During the natural transmission of Leishmania parasites, the infected sand fly female regurgitates promastigotes into the host's skin together with its saliva. It has been reported that vector saliva contains immunomodulatory molecules that facilitate the establishment of infection. Thus, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the specificity of Lutzomyia (Lu.) flaviscutellata and Lu.(Psychodopygus) complexus salivas on the infectivity of Leishmania (L.) (Leishmania) amazonensis and L.(Viannia) braziliensis, respectively. BALB/c mice were inoculated into the skin of hind footpad with L.(L.) amazonensis and L.(V.) braziliensis promastigotes in the absence or presence of Lu.flaviscutellata and Lu.(P.) complexus salivary gland homogenates (SGHs). The evolution of the infection was evaluated by lesion size, histopathological analysis and determination of the parasite load in the skin biopsies collected from the site of infection at 4 and 8weeks PI. The lesion size and the parasite load of both groups of mice infected in the presence of SGHs were smaller than the control groups. The histopathological features showed that the inflammatory reaction was less prominent in the groups of mice infected in the presence of both SGHs when compared to the control group. The results showed that the presence of SGHs of Lu.flaviscutellata and Lu.(P.) complexus led to induction of processes that were disadvantageous to parasite establishment during infection by L.(L.) amazonensis and L.(V.) braziliensis. An inhibitory effect on Leishmania infection could be observed in both groups inoculated with SGHs, especially when the SGH from Lu.(P.) complexus was used.
- Antimicrobial Activity of Oleanolic and Ursolic Acids: An Update(2015) JESUS, Jessica A.; LAGO, Joao Henrique G.; LAURENTI, Marcia D.; YAMAMOTO, Eduardo S.; PASSERO, Luiz Felipe D.Triterpenoids are the most representative group of phytochemicals, as they comprise more than 20,000 recognized molecules. These compounds are biosynthesized in plants via squalene cyclization, a C-30 hydrocarbon that is considered to be the precursor of all steroids. Due to their low hydrophilicity, triterpenes were considered to be inactive for a long period of time; however, evidence regarding their wide range of pharmacological activities is emerging, and elegant studies have highlighted these activities. Several triterpenic skeletons have been described, including some that have presented with pentacyclic features, such as oleanolic and ursolic acids. These compounds have displayed incontestable biological activity, such as antibacterial, antiviral, and antiprotozoal effects, which were not included in a single review until now. Thus, the present review investigates the potential use of these triterpenes against human pathogens, including their mechanisms of action, via in vivo studies, and the future perspectives about the use of compounds for human or even animal health are also discussed.
- The Effect of Ursolic Acid on Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis Is Related to Programed Cell Death and Presents Therapeutic Potential in Experimental Cutaneous Leishmaniasis(2015) YAMAMOTO, Eduardo S.; CAMPOS, Bruno L. S.; JESUS, Jessica A.; LAURENTI, Marcia D.; RIBEIRO, Susan P.; KALLAS, Esper G.; RAFAEL-FERNANDES, Mariana; SANTOS-GOMES, Gabriela; SILVA, Marcelo S.; SESSA, Deborah P.; LAGO, Joao H. G.; LEVY, Debora; PASSERO, Luiz F. D.Among neglected tropical diseases, leishmaniasis is one of the most important ones, affecting more than 12 million people worldwide. The available treatments are not well tolerated, and present diverse side effects, justifying the search for new therapeutic compounds. In the present study, the activity of ursolic acid (UA) and oleanolic acid (OA) were assayed in experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis (in vitro and in vivo). Promastigote forms of L. amazonensis were incubated with OA and UA for 24h, and effective concentration 50% (EC50) was estimated. Ultraestructural alterations in Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes after UA treatment were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy, and the possible mode of action was assayed through Annexin V and propidium iodide staining, caspase 3/7 activity, DNA fragmentation and transmembrane mitochondrial potential. The UA potential was evaluated in intracellular amastigotes, and its therapeutic potential was evaluated in L. amazonensis infected BALB/c mice. UA eliminated L. amazonensis promastigotes with an EC50 of 6.4 mu g/mL, comparable with miltefosine, while OA presented only a marginal effect on promastigote forms at 100 mu g/mL. The possible mechanism by which promastigotes were eliminated by UA was programmed cell death, independent of caspase 3/7, but it was highly dependent on mitochondria activity. UA was not toxic for peritoneal macrophages from BALB/c mice, and it was able to eliminate intracellular amastigotes, associated with nitric oxide (NO) production. OA did not eliminate amastigotes nor trigger NO. L. amazonensis infected BALB/c mice submitted to UA treatment presented lesser lesion size and parasitism compared to control. This study showed, for the first time, that UA eliminate promastigote forms through a mechanism associated with programed cell death, and importantly, was effective in vivo. Therefore, UA can be considered an interesting candidate for future tests as a prototype drug for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.
- In Vivo Antileishmanial Activity of Plant-Based Secondary Metabolites(2013) PASSERO, Luiz Felipe Domingues; LAURENTI, Marcia D.; SANTOS-GOMES, Gabriela; CAMPOS, Bruno Luiz Soares; SARTORELLI, Patricia; LAGO, Joao Henrique G.
- Proteins of Leishmania (Viannia) shawi confer protection associated with Th1 immune response and memory generation(2012) PASSERO, Luiz Felipe D.; CARVALHO, Ana Kely; BORDON, Maria L. A. C.; BONFIM-MELO, Alexis; CARVALHO, Karina; KALLAS, Esper G.; SANTOS, Bianca B. A.; TOYAMA, Marcos H.; PAES-LEME, Adriana; CORBETT, Carlos E. P.; LAURENTI, Marcia D.Background: Leishmania (Viannia) shawi parasite was first characterized in 1989. Recently the protective effects of soluble leishmanial antigen (SLA) from L. (V.) shawi promastigotes were demonstrated using BALB/c mice, the susceptibility model for this parasite. In order to identify protective fractions, SLA was fractionated by reverse phase HPLC and five antigenic fractions were obtained. Methods: F1 fraction was purified from L. (V.) shawi parasite extract by reverse phase HPLC. BALB/c mice were immunized once a week for two consecutive weeks by subcutaneous routes in the rump, using 25 mu g of F1. After 1 and 16 weeks of last immunization, groups were challenged in the footpad with L. (V.) shawi promastigotes. After 2 months, those same mice were sacrificed and parasite burden, cellular and humoral immune responses were evaluated. Results: The F1 fraction induced a high degree of protection associated with an increase in IFN-gamma, a decrease in IL-4, increased cell proliferation and activation of CD8(+)T lymphocytes. Long-term protection was acquired in F1-immunized mice, associated with increased CD4(+) central memory T lymphocytes and activation of both CD4+ and CD8(+) T cells. In addition, F1-immunized groups showed an increase in IgG2a levels. Conclusions: The inductor capability of antigens to generate memory lymphocytes that can proliferate and secrete beneficial cytokines upon infection could be an important factor in the development of vaccine candidates against American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis.
- Anti-leishmanial effects of purified compounds from aerial parts of Baccharis uncinella C. DC. (Asteraceae)(2011) PASSERO, Luiz Felipe D.; BONFIM-MELO, Alexis; CORBETT, Carlos Eduardo P.; LAURENTI, Marcia D.; TOYAMA, Marcos H.; TOYAMA, Daniela O. de; ROMOFF, Paulete; FAVERO, Oriana A.; GRECCO, Simone S. dos; ZALEWSKY, Cynthia A.; LAGO, Joo Henrique G.Species of Baccharis exhibit antibiotic, antiseptic, wound-healing, and anti-protozoal properties, and have been used in the traditional medicine of South America for the treatment of several diseases. In the present work, the fractionation of EtOH extract from aerial parts of Baccharis uncinella indicated that the isolated compounds caffeic acid and pectolinaringenin showed inhibitory activity against Leishmania (L.) amazonensis and Leishmania (V.) braziliensis promastigotes, respectively. Moreover, amastigote forms of both species were highly sensible to the fraction composed by oleanolic + ursolic acids and pectolinaringenin. Caffeic acid also inhibited amastigote forms of L. (L.) amazonensis, but this effect was weak in L. (V.) braziliensis amastigotes. The treatment of infected macrophages with these compounds did not alter the levels of nitrates, indicating a direct effect of the compounds on amastigote stages. The results presented herein suggest that the active components from B. uncinella can be important to the design of new drugs against American tegumentar leishmaniases.
- Evaluation of anti-inflammatory activity of derivatives from aerial parts of Baccharis uncinella(2011) ZALEWSKI, Cynthia A.; PASSERO, Luiz Felipe D.; MELO, Alexis S. R. B.; CORBETT, Carlos Eduardo P.; LAURENTI, Marcia D.; TOYAMA, Marcos H.; TOYAMA, Daniela O.; ROMOFF, Paulete; FAVERO, Oriana A.; LAGO, Joao Henrique G.Context: Species of Baccharis exhibit antibiotic, antiseptic, and wound-healing properties, and have been used in the traditional medicine of South America for the treatment of inflammation, headaches, diabetes, and hepatobiliary disorders. Objective: To investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of organic phases from EtOH extract of the aerial parts of Baccharis uncinella DC (Asteraceae). Materials and methods: The crude EtOH extract from the aerial parts of B. uncinella was subjected to partition procedures and the corresponding CH(2)Cl(2) and EtOAc phases were subjected to several chromatographic separation procedures. Thus, these phases and their purified compounds were assayed for evaluation of anti-inflammatory activity. Results: The CH(2)Cl(2) phase from EtOH extract from B. uncinella contained two triterpenoids (oleanolic and ursolic acids) and one flavonoid (pectolinaringenin), whereas the respective EtOAc phase showed to be composed mainly by two phenylpropanoid derivatives (caffeic and ferulic acids). The CH(2)Cl(2) and EtOAc phases as well as their isolated compounds exhibited anti-inflammatory effects against inflammatory reactions induced by phospholipase A2 (from Crotalus durissus terrificus venom) and by carrageenan. Discussion and conclusion: The results suggested that the components obtained from partition phases of EtOH extract of B. uncinella could represent lead molecules for the development of anti-inflammatory agents. Additionally, the results confirmed the use of Baccharis genus in the traditional medicine of South America for the treatment of inflammation and other heath disorders. To date, the present work describes for the first time the anti-inflammatory effects of compounds isolated from B. uncinella.
- Antileishmanial activity evaluation of adunchalcone, a new prenylated dihydrochalcone from Piper aduncum L.(2014) PICOLO, Camilla R. Dal; BEZERRA, Mariana P.; GOMES, Kaio S.; PASSERO, Luiz Felipe D.; LAURENTI, Marcia D.; MARTINS, Euder Glendes A.; SARTORELLI, Patricia; LAGO, Joao Henrique G.Bioactivity-guided fractionation of EtOH extract from the leaves of Piper aduncum L. (Piperaceae) afforded a new dihydrochalcone, named adunchalcone. Its structure was elucidated on the basis of their spectroscopic data, primarily NMR and MS. Adunchalcone was evaluated against promastigote forms of Leishmania (L.) amazonensis, L. (V.) braziliensis, L. (V.) shawl, and L. (L.) chagasi and displayed 50% effective concentrations (EC50) of 11.03, 26.70, and 11.26 mu M, as well as selective indexes of 4.86, 2.01, 4.76 and 0.50, respectively. This compound was also tested against intracellular forms of L. (L.) amazonensis, displaying weak activity, in comparison to reference drug amphotericin B. However, despite reduced effect of adunchalcone against amastigotes of L. (L.) amazonensis, this work opens the perspective to use this particular molecule as a scaffold for the design of novel and selective drug candidates for neglected diseases, mainly leishmaniasis.
- Mechanistic Insights into the Leishmanicidal and Bactericidal Activities of Batroxicidin, a Cathelicidin-Related Peptide from a South American Viper (Bothrops atrox)(2021) DEMATEI, Anderson; NUNES, Joao B.; MOREIRA, Daniel C.; JESUS, Jessica A.; LAURENTI, Marcia D.; MENGARDA, Ana C. A.; VIEIRA, Maria Silva; AMARAL, Constanca Pais do; DOMINGUES, Marco M.; MORAES, Josue de; PASSERO, Luiz F. D.; BRAND, Guilherme; BESSA, Lucinda J.; WIMMER, Reinhard; KUCKELHAUS, Selma A. S.; TOMAS, Ana M.; SANTOS, Nuno C.; PLACIDO, Alexandra; EATON, Peter; LEITE, Jose Roberto S. A.Snake venoms are important sources of bioactive molecules, including those with antiparasitic activity. Cathelicidins form a class of such molecules, which are produced by a variety of organisms. Batroxicidin (BatxC) is a cathelicidin found in the venom of the common lancehead (Bothrops atrox). In the present work, BatxC and two synthetic analogues, Bab(C(C-2.15Phe) and BabcC(C-2.14Phe)des-Phe1, were assessed for their microbicidal activity. All three peptides showed a broad-spectrum activity on Gram-positive and -negative bacteria, as well as promastigote and amastigote forms of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis. Circular dichroism (CD) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data indicated that the three peptides changed their structure upon interaction with membranes. Biomimetic membrane model studies demonstrated that the peptides exert a permeabilization effect in prokaryotic membranes, leading to cell morphology distortion, which was confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The molecules considered in this work exhibited bactericidal and leishmanicidal activity at low concentrations, with the AFM data suggesting membrane pore formation as their mechanism of action. These peptides stand as valuable prototype drugs to be further investigated and eventually used to treat bacterial and protozoal infections.
- Differential modulation of macrophage response elicited by glycoinositolphospholipids and lipophosphoglycan from Leishmania (Viannia) shawi(2015) PASSERO, Luiz F. D.; ASSIS, Rafael R.; SILVA, Thays N. F. da; NOGUEIRA, Paula M.; MACEDO, Diego H.; PESSOA, Natalia L.; CAMPOS, Marco A.; LAURENTI, Marcia D.; SOARES, Rodrigo P.In this work, some aspects of the glycobiology of Leishmattia shawl were examined, as it is a causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the New World. Additionally, the interaction of L. shawl's main glycoconjugates [lipophosphoglycan (LPG) and glycoinositolphospholipids (GIPLs)] with macrophages was evaluated in vitro. L. shawl LPG was devoid of side-chains in its repeat units, whereas monosaccharide analysis showed that GIPLs were suggestive of mannose-rich (type I or hybrid). In order to evaluate the biological roles of those molecules, BALB/c resident peritoneal macrophages were incubated with these glycoconjugates for 24 h, and the levels of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-12p70 and IL-10, were determined. In general, the GIPLs exhibited a greater proinflammatory role than the LPGs did. However, for the first time, the GIPLs from this species were able to trigger the production of IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine. In conclusion, L shawl glycoconjugates were able to interact with the innate immune compartment. These data reinforce the role of parasite glycoconjugates during parasite and host cell interactions.