EUFROSINA SETSU UMEZAWA
Projetos de Pesquisa
Unidades Organizacionais
Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, Faculdade de Medicina - Docente
LIM/49 - Laboratório de Protozoologia, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina - Líder
LIM/49 - Laboratório de Protozoologia, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina - Líder
10 resultados
Resultados de Busca
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- Leptomonas seymouri and Crithidia fasciculata exoantigens can discriminate human cases of visceral leishmaniasis from American tegumentary leishmaniasis ones(2017) KESPER, Norival; TEIXEIRA, Marta Maria G.; LINDOSO, Jose Angelo L.; BARBIERI, Clara Lucia; UMEZAWA, Eufrosina SetsuExoantigens (exo) from Leptomonas seymouri and Crithidia fasciculata were used in an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), showing 100% reactivity with sera from visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases, and no reactivity with American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) ones. Our results have indicated that these exoantigens can be applied in the discrimination of VL and ATL cases.
- Evaluation of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum excreted-secreted antigens for detection of canine leishmaniasis(2016) PINEDO-CANCINO, Viviana; LAURENTI, Marcia Dalastra; KESPER, Norival; UMEZAWA, Eufrosina SetsuThe efficacy of tests with L (L.) infantum excreted-secreted antigens (ESA) to detect canine leishmaniasis (CanL) was evaluated using immunoblotting (ESA-blot), ELISA (ESA-ELISA) and ELISA with alkaline extract from promastigotes (PAE). Of one hundred fifty-five domestic dogs tested, 100 were suspected of CanL, 23 had other diseases and 32 were healthy. Sera from the dogs suspected of CanL were tested by immunohistochemistry (IHC), and 54% were confirmed to be infected by L (L.) infantum (38 symptomatic and 16 asymptomatic). Of these, 100% were positive by ESA-blot, ESA-ELISA and PAE-ELISA. In the ESA blot their sera recognized polypeptides in the 26.5-31.5 kDa region. Of the 46% of dogs with negative IHC, 44-53% tested positive in all three tests irrespective of clinical status. The twenty-three dogs with other diseases were negative by ESA-blot, but sera from 9% and 26% of them reacted with ESA-ELISA and PAE-ELISA, respectively. The 32 healthy dogs were negative in all the tests. ESA-blot showed good correlation with IHC in the detection of CanL and a high specificity index.
- Infectious Diseases in Free-Ranging Blonde Capuchins, Sapajus flavius, in Brazil(2017) BUENO, Marina Galvao; CATO-DIAS, Jose Luiz; LAROQUE, Plautino de Oliveira; VASCONCELLOS, Silvio Arruda; FERREIRA NETO, Jose Soares; GENNARI, Solange Maria; FERREIRA, Fernando; LAURENTI, Marcia Dalastra; UMEZAWA, Eufrosina Setsu; KESPER, Norival; KIRCHGATTER, Karin; GUIMARES, Lilian Oliveira; PAVANATO, Heloise Juliao; VALENCA-MONTENEGRO, Monica MafraThe main threats to primates worldwide are the degradation, fragmentation, and loss of their habitats; hunting (especially for bushmeat); and illegal trade. For many species, the most important threat is forest fragmentation, resulting in small populations that are restricted to isolated forest patches. In this situation, primates are particularly vulnerable to disease. The Endangered blonde capuchin (Sapajus flavius) is now restricted to a few forest patches in Northeast Brazil. We investigated the occurrence of parasites and bacterial diseases in one of three free-ranging groups of S. flavius in a small forest patch in Paraiba state, Northeast Brazil. We tested for antibodies against Leishmania spp., Trypanosoma cruzi, Toxoplasma gondii, Leptospira spp. (24 strains), and Brucella spp.. We used molecular analysis to detect Plasmodium spp., and evaluated blood smears for the presence of hemoparasites. All individuals tested negative for Leptospira spp. and B. abortus, but 8 of 48 (16%) presented antibodies for both Leishmania spp. and T. cruzi. We identified antibodies to T. gondii in 12% of the individuals tested. Plasmodium brasilianum infection was present in 4% of the individuals tested, and blood smears showed microfilariae parasites in 46% of the individuals tested. The occurrence of these infectious diseases in S. flavius may pose a significant threat in terms of reduced recruitment and poor survival rates, and an understanding of the influence of pathogens is crucial for the management of small populations of primates.
- Serological survey for Chagas disease in the rural areas of Manaus, Coari, and Tefe in the Western Brazilian Amazon(2011) MAGALHAES, Belisa Maria Lopes; COELHO, Leila Ines Aguiar Raposo Camara; MACIEL, Marcel Goncalves; FERREIRA, Joao Marcos Benfica Barbosa; UMEZAWA, Eufrozina Setsu; COURA, Jose Rodrigues; GUERRA, Jorge Augusto de Oliveira; BARBOSA, Maria das Gracas ValeIntroduction: Deforestation, uncontrolled forest, human population migration from endemic areas, and the large number of reservoirs and wild vectors naturally infected by Trypanosoma cruzi promote the endemicity of Chagas disease in the Amazon region. Methods: We conducted an initial serological survey (ELISA) in a sample of 1,263 persons; 1,095 (86.7%) were natives of the state of Amazonas, 666 (52.7%) were male, and 948 (75.1%) were over 20 years old. Serum samples that were found to be reactive, indeterminate, or inconclusive by indirect immunofluorescence (IFI) or positive with low titer by IFA were tested by Western blot (WB). Serologically confirmed patients (WB) were evaluated in terms of epidemiological, clinical, ECG, and echocardiography characteristics. Results: Fifteen patients had serologically confirmed T. cruzi infection, and 12 of them were autochthonous to the state of Amazonas, for an overall seroprevalence of 1.2% and 0.9% for the state of Amazonas. Five of the 15 cases were males, and the average age was 47 years old; most were farmers with low education. One patient who was not autochthonous, having originated from Alagoas, showed right bundle branch block, bundle branch block, and anterosuperior left ventricular systolic dysfunction with an ejection fraction of 54%. Conclusions: The results of this study ratify the importance of monitoring CD cases in Amazonia, particularly in the state of Amazonas.
- Profile of Trypanosoma cruzi Reactivity in a Population at High Risk for Endemic Pemphigus Foliaceus (Fogo Selvagem)(2012) SOUSA JR., Joaquim X.; DIAZ, Luis A.; EATON, Donald P.; HANS-FILHO, Guenter; FREITAS, Elder Lanzani de; DELGADO, Livia; ICHIMURA, Ligia Maria F.; CRISTALDI, Flavia; ORLANDI, Renata; KESPER JR., Norival; UMEZAWA, Eufrosina S.; RIVITTI, Evandro A.; AOKI, ValeriaFogo Selvagem (FS) is an autoimmune bullous disease with pathogenic IgG autoantibodies recognizing desmoglein 1 (Dsg1), a desmosomal glycoprotein. In certain settlements of Brazil, a high prevalence of FS (3%) is reported, suggesting environmental factors as triggers of the autoimmune response. Healthy individuals from endemic areas recognize nonpathogenic epitopes of Dsg1, and exposure to hematophagous insects is a risk factor for FS. Fogo selvagem and Chagas disease share some geographic sites, and anti-Dsg1 has been detected in Chagas patients. Indeterminate Chagas disease was identified in a Brazilian Amerindian population of high risk for FS. In counterpart, none of the FS patients living in the same geographic region showed reactivity against Trypanosoma cruzi. The profile of anti-Dsg1 antibodies showed positive results in 15 of 40 FS sera and in 33 of 150 sera from healthy individuals from endemic FS sites, and no cross-reactivity between Chagas disease and FS was observed.
- Chagas disease: Performance analysis of immunodiagnostic tests anti-Trypanosoma cruzi in blood donors with inconclusive screening results(2021) FERREIRA-SILVA, Marcia M.; PEREIRA, Gilberto de Araujo; RODRIGUES-JUNIOR, Virmondes; MEIRA, Wendell S. F.; V, Fernando Basques; LANGHI-JUNIOR, Dante Mario; ROMANELLI, Marcelo; UMEZAWA, Eufrosina S.; KESPER-JUNIOR, Norival; LOUZADA-NETO, Francisco; BORDIN, Jose O.; MORAES-SOUZA, HelioBackground: The screening of Trypanosoma cruzi-infected blood donors using two serological techniques frequently leads to conflicting results. This fact prompted us to evaluate the diagnostic performance of four ""in-house"" immunodiagnostic tests and two commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Material and Methods: One hundred and seventy-nine blood donors, whose screening for Chagas disease was doubtful, underwent three in-house ELISAs, one in-house immunoblotting test (TESA-blot), and two commercial ELISAs (bioMerieux and Wiener) in an attempt to define the presence or absence of infection. Simultaneously, 29 donors with previous positive results from three conventional serological tests and 30 donors with constant negative results were evaluated. Results: The ELISA-Wiener showed the highest rate in sensitivity (98.92%) and the ELISA-bioMerieux, the highest specificity (99.45%), followed by the TESA- blot, which showed superior performance, with lower false-negative (2.18%) and false-positive (1.12%) rates. In series, the combination composed of the TESA-blot and ELISA-bioMerieux showed slightly superior performance, with trifunctional protein deficiency (TFP) = 0.01%. Conclusion: Our study confirms the high sensitivity and specificity of commercial kits. To confirm the presence or absence of T. cruzi infection, the combination of TESA-blot and ELISA-bioMerieux may be suggested as the best alternative. Individually, the TESA-blot performed the closest to the gold standard; however, it is not commercially available. (C) 2020 Associacao Brasileira de Hematologia, Hemoterapia e Terapia Celular.
- The Efficacy of L. (L.) chagasi Excreted-Secreted Antigens (ESAs) for Visceral Leishmaniasis Diagnosis Is Due To Low Levels of Cross-Reactivity(2013) PINEDO-CANCINO, Viviana; KESPER, Norival; BARBIERI, Clara Lucia; LINDOSO, Jose Angelo Lauletta; UMEZAWA, Eufrosina SetsuThe analysis of promastigote excreted-secreted antigen (ESA) reactivity with 53 visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases showed that each sample reacted regardless of the antigen or the Leishmania species used in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) displayed 100% positivity with the L. (L.) chagasi ESA-blot recognizing bands of molecular weight ranging from 26.5 to 31.5 kDa. The analysis of 160 non-visceral cases showed that 5% of the samples cross-reacted with the L. (L.) chagasi ESA-ELISA and 9.4% reacted with the ESA isolated from L. (L.) amazonensis and L. (V.) braziliensis, whereas a high cross-reaction ranging from 24.4% to 25% was observed with total crude promastigote antigens (PRO-ELISA). The ESA-blot of L. (L.) chagasi tested with non-visceral sera samples showed a cross-reaction with 8.8% of cases; most of these cases represented tegumentary leishmaniasis and only one acute chagasic case. These data lead us to recommend the use of ESA as an alternative antigen in VL diagnosis.
- Vimentin and Anti Vimentin Antibodies in Chagas' Disease(2018) NASCIMENTO, Marilda Savoia; STOLF, Anna Maria Simonsen; ANDRADE JUNIOR, Heitor Franco de; PANDEY, Ramendra Pati; UMEZAWA, Eufrosina SetsuBackground: Vimentin is a main structural protein of the cell, a component of intermediate cell filaments and immersed in cytoplasm. Vimentin is mimicked by some bacterial proteins and anti-vimentin antibodies occur in autoimmune cardiac disease, as rheumatic fever. In this work we studied vimentin distribution on LLC-MK2 cells infected with T. cruzi and anti-vimentin antibodies in sera from several clinical pictures of Chagas' disease or American Trypanosomiasis, in order to elucidate any vimentin involvement in the humoral response of this pathology. Objective: We standardized an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFI) to determine sub cellular expression in either parasites and host cells, and ELISA to evaluate anti-vimentin antibodies in sera fron chagasic patients. Methods: We analyzed the distribution of vimentin in culture cells using indirect fluorescent assays, using as external controls anti-T. cruzi sera, derived from chronic infected patients for identification of the parasites in the same model. After infection and growth of T.cruzi amastigotes, those cells express larger amounts of vimentin, with heavy staining of cytoplasm outside the parasitophorous vacuole and some particle shadowing patterns, suggesting that vimentin are associated with cell cytoplasm. Anti-vimentin antibodies were present in most American trypanosomiasis samples, but notably, they are much more present in acute (76, 9%) or clinical defined syndromes, especially cardiac disease (87, 9%). Paradoxically, they were relatively infrequent in asymptomatic (25%) infected patients, which had a clearly positive serological reaction to parasite antigens, but had low frequency of anti-vimentin antibodies, similar to controls (2,5%). Conclusion: Our current data revealed that anti-vimentin antibodies induced during T. cruzi infection could be a marker of active disease in the host and its levels could also justify drug therapy in American Trypanosomiasis chronic infection, as a large group of asymptomatic patients would be submitted to treatment with frequent adverse reactions of the available drugs. Anti-vimentin antibodies could be a marker of cardiac muscle cell damage, appearing in American Trypanosomiasis patients during active muscle cell damage.
- Canine visceral leishmaniasis and Chagas disease among dogs in Araguaina, Tocantins(2013) MORAIS, Arielle Nunes; SOUSA, Marlos Goncalves; MEIRELES, Luciana Regina; KESPER JR., Norival; UMEZAWA, Eufrosina SetsuThe present study analyzed serum samples from 111 male and female dogs of various ages from the municipality of Araguaina in the State of Tocantins, Brazil. Serological diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) was initially performed at the Central Laboratory (Laboratorio Central - LACEN) of Araguaina, resulting in 61 positive samples by an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA) (>= 1:40) and 50 non-reactive samples. The same samples were analyzed at the Sao Paulo Institute of Tropical Medicine (Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo - IMTSP) by an enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA), resulting in 57 positive samples (51.35%) and 54 negative samples (48.64%). The Kappa coefficient of agreement between the tests was 0.74. The serum samples were also subjected to a diagnostic assay for Trypanosoma cruzi (Trypomastigote Excreted/Secreted Antigens -TESA-blot) that detected five suspect animals; three of those animals were positive for leishmaniasis by ELISA but negative by IIFA. These findings suggest that the canine population of Araguaina may be simultaneously infected with Leishmania chagasi and T. cruzi. The results obtained demonstrate the difficulty of using serology to detect CVL, thus emphasizing the necessity for a reference test to diagnose CVL, particularly in regions where the infection is endemic.
- New insights about cross-reactive epitopes of six trypanosomatid genera revealed that Crithidia and Leptomonas have antigenic similarity to L. (L.) chagasi(2014) FERREIRA, Leandro Rodrigues; KESPER, Norival; TEIXEIRA, Marta M. G.; LAURENTI, Marcia Dalastra; BARBIERI, C. L.; LINDOSO, Jose Angelo; UMEZAWA, Eufrosina S.We investigated whether ELISA using crude antigens from insect and plant trypanosomatids, which are non-pathogenic and easily cultivated in large scale, has the same positivity data as Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi, the etiological agent of human visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or canine leishmaniasis (CanL), or as Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease (CD). The antigens from Crithidia fasciculata, Crithidia luciliae, and Leptomonas seymouri showed 100% cross-reactivity with VL and CanL samples, with no statistically titers differences from L. (L.) chagasi, however, 34% (17/50) of VL samples revealed higher titers using the insect trypanosomatids than the homologous antigen. On the other hand, antigens from Strigomonas culicis, Angomonas deanei, and Phytomonas serpens showed low cross-reactivity with VL and CanL samples. The sera from patients with American tegumentary leishmaniasis showed low levels of cross-reactivity with all trypanosomatids investigated, even with L. (L) chagasi, without titers dissimilarity among them. These parasites were also worthless as antigen source for detection of CD cases, which required homologous antigens to reach 100% positivity. This study showed, by ELISA, that crude extract of Crithidia and Leptomonas have epitopes similar to L. (L.) chagasi, which supports the idea of using them as antigens source for the serodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis.