THAIS MARTINS DE LIMA
Projetos de Pesquisa
Unidades Organizacionais
LIM/51 - Laboratório de Emergências Clínicas, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina
LIM/02 - Laboratório de Anatomia Médico-Cirúrgica, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina
LIM/02 - Laboratório de Anatomia Médico-Cirúrgica, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina
6 resultados
Resultados de Busca
Agora exibindo 1 - 6 de 6
- Cathelicidin-deficient mice exhibit increased survival and upregulation of key inflammatory response genes following cecal ligation and puncture(2017) SEVERINO, Patricia; ARIGA, Suely Kubo; BARBEIRO, Hermes Vieira; LIMA, Thais Martins de; SILVA, Elisangela de Paula; BARBEIRO, Denise Frediani; MACHADO, Marcel Cerqueira Cesar; NIZET, Victor; SILVA, Fabiano Pinheiro daAntimicrobial peptides possess a myriad of molecular properties including bacterial killing and the regulation of many aspects of innate immunity. Cathelicidins are a group of antimicrobial peptides widely investigated by the scientific community. Many studies have focused on the bactericidal and pro-inflammatory roles of cathelicidins. Because the role of endogenous cathelicidin expression remains obscure in deep-seated systemic infections, we induced sepsis in cathelicidin knockout and wild-type (WT) mice by cecal ligation and puncture, performing transcriptome screening by DNA micro-array in conjunction with other immunologic assays. Cathelicidin-deficient mice showed increased survival compared to WT mice in this established experimental model of polymicrobial sepsis, in association with upregulation of certain key inflammatory response genes. Therefore, cathelicidins can exert both pro- and anti-inflammatory activities depending on the disease and cellular context.
- Sepsis Induces Telomere Shortening: a Potential Mechanism Responsible for Delayed Pathophysiological Events in Sepsis Survivors?(2016) OLIVEIRA, Naara Mendes; RIOS, Ester C. S.; LIMA, Thais Martins de; VICTORINO, Vanessa Jacob; BARBEIRO, Hermes; SILVA, Fabiano Pinheiro da; SZABO, Csaba; SORIANO, Francisco GarciaSepsis survivors suffer from additional morbidities, including higher risk of readmissions, nervous system disturbances and cognitive dysfunction, and increased mortality, even several years after the initial episode of sepsis. In many ways, the phenotype of sepsis survivors resembles the phenotype associated with accelerated aging. Since telomere shortening is a hallmark of aging, we investigated whether sepsis also leads to telomere shortening. Male balb/c mice were divided into two groups: the control group received 100 mu l of normal saline intraperitoneally (i.p.) and the sepsis group received 15 mg/kg of bacterial lipopolysaccharide i.p. After 48 h, animals were euthanized to collect blood, spleen and kidney. The human component of our study utilized blood samples obtained from patients in the trauma department and samples collected 7 d later in those patients who developed sepsis. Telomere length was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Since oxidative stress is a known inducer of telomere shortening, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances and superoxide dismutase activity were analyzed to evaluate oxidative stress burden. Induction of endotoxemia in mice resulted in significant telomere shortening in spleen and kidney. Blood cells from patients who progressed to sepsis also exhibited a statistically significant reduction of telomere length. Endotoxemia in mice also induced an early-onset increase in oxidative stress markers but was not associated with a downregulation of telomerase protein expression. We conclude that endotoxemia and sepsis induce telomere shortening in various tissues and hypothesize that this may contribute to the pathogenesis of the delayed pathophysiological events in sepsis survivors.
- The PARP inhibitor olaparib exerts beneficial effects in mice subjected to cecal ligature and puncture and in cells subjected to oxidative stress without impairing DNA integrity: A potential opportunity' for repurposing a clinically used oncological drug for the experimental therapy of sepsis(2019) AHMAD, Akbar; VIEIRA, Juliana de Camargo; MELLO, Aline Haas de; LIMA, Thais Martins de; ARIGA, Suely Kubo; BARBEIRO, Denise Frediani; BARBEIRO, Hermes Vieira; SZCZESNY, Bartosz; TORO, Gabor; DRUZHYNA, Nadiya; RANDI, Elisa B.; MARCATTI, Michela; TOLIVER-KINSKY, Tracy; KISS, Andras; LIAUDET, Lucas; SALOMAO, Reinaldo; SORIANO, Francisco Garcia; SZABO, CsabaPoly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is involved in the pathogenesis of cell dysfunction, inflammation and organ failure during septic shock. The goal of the current study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of the clinically approved PARP inhibitor olaparib in experimental models of oxidative stress in vitro and in sepsis in vivo. In mice subjected to cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) organ injury markers, circulating and splenic immune cell distributions, circulating mediators, DNA integrity and survival was measured. In U937 cells subjected to oxidative stress, cellular bioenergetics, viability and DNA integrity were measured. Olaparib was used to inhibit PARP. The results show that in adult male mice subjected to CLP, olaparib (1-10 mg/kg i.p.) improved multiorgan dysfunction. Olaparib treatment reduced the degree of bacterial CFUs. Olaparib attenuated the increases in the levels of several circulating mediators in the plasma. In the spleen, the number of CD4 + and CD8 + lymphocytes were reduced in response to CLP; this reduction was inhibited by olaparib treatment. Treg but not Th17 lymphocytes increased in response to CLP; these cell populations were reduced in sepsis when the animals received olaparib. The Th17/Treg ratio was lower in CLP-olaparib group than in the CLP control group. Analysis of miRNA expression identified a multitude of changes in spleen and circulating white blood cell miRNA levels after CLP; olaparib treatment selectively modulated these responses. Olaparib extended the survival rate of mice subjected to CLP. In contrast to males, in female mice olaparib did not have significant protective effects in CLP. In aged mice olaparib exerted beneficial effects that were less pronounced than the effects obtained in young adult males. In in vitro experiments in U937 cells subjected to oxidative stress, olaparib (1-100 mu M) inhibited PARP activity, protected against the loss of cell viability, preserved NAD+ levels and improved cellular bioenergetics. In none of the in vivo or in vitro experiments did we observe any adverse effects of olaparib on nuclear or mitochondrial DNA integrity. In conclusion, olaparib improves organ function and extends survival in septic shock. Repurposing and eventual clinical introduction of this clinically approved PARP inhibitor may be warranted for the experimental therapy of septic shock.
- Antimicrobial peptide LL-37 participates in the transcriptional regulation of melanoma cells(2016) MUNOZ, Mindy; CRASKE, Madeleine; SEVERINO, Patricia; LIMA, Thais Martins de; LABHART, Paul; CHAMMAS, Roger; VELASCO, Irineu Tadeu; MACHADO, Marcel Cerqueira Cesar; EGAN, Brian; NAKAYA, Helder I.; SILVA, Fabiano Pinheiro daAntimicrobial peptides are an ancient family of molecules that emerged millions of years ago and have been strongly conserved during the evolutionary process of living organisms. Recently, our group described that the human antimicrobial peptide LL-37 migrates to the nucleus, raising the possibility that LL-37 could directly modulate transcription under certain conditions. Here, we showed evidence that LL-37 binds to gene promoter regions, and LL-37 gene silencing changed the transcriptional program of melanoma A375 cells genes associated with histone, metabolism, cellular stress, ubiquitination and mitochondria.
- PPAR gamma expression is increased in systemic lupus erythematosus patients and represses CD40/CD40L signaling pathway(2011) OXER, D. S.; GODOY, L. C.; BORBA, E.; LIMA-SALGADO, T.; PASSOS, L. A.; LAURINDO, I.; KUBO, S.; BARBEIRO, D. F.; FERNANDES, D.; LAURINDO, F. R.; VELASCO, I. T.; CURI, R.; BONFA, E.; SOUZA, H. P.Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a heterogeneous disease involving several immune cell types and pro-inflammatory signals, including the one triggered by binding of CD40L to the receptor CD40. Peroxisome-proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma) is a transcription factor with anti-inflammatory properties. Here we investigated whether CD40 and PPAR gamma could exert opposite effects in the immune response and the possible implications for SLE. Increased PPAR gamma mRNA levels were detected by real-time PCR in patients with active SLE, compared to patients with inactive SLE PPAR gamma/GAPDH mRNA = 2.21 +/- 0.49 vs. 0.57 +/- 0.14, respectively (p < 0.05) or patients with infectious diseases and healthy subjects (p < 0.05). This finding was independent of the corticosteroid therapy. We further explored these observations in human THP1 and in SLE patient-derived macrophages, where activation of CD40 by CD40L promoted augmented PPAR gamma gene transcription compared to non-stimulated cells (PPAR gamma/GAPDH mRNA = 1.14 +/- 0.38 vs. 0.14 +/- 0.01, respectively; p < 0.05). This phenomenon occurred specifically upon CD40 activation, since lipopolysaccharide treatment did not induce a similar response. In addition, increased activity of PPAR gamma was also detected after CD40 activation, since higher PPAR gamma-dependent transcription of CD36 transcription was observed. Furthermore, CD40L-stimulated transcription of CD80 gene was elevated in cells treated with PPAR gamma-specific small interfering RNA (small interfering RNA, siRNA) compared to cells treated with CD40L alone (CD80/GAPDH mRNA = 0.11 +/- 0.04 vs. 0.05 +/- 0.02, respectively; p < 0.05), suggesting a regulatory role for PPAR gamma on the CD40/CD40L pathway. Altogether, our findings outline a novel mechanism through which PPAR gamma regulates the inflammatory signal initiated by activation of CD40, with important implications for the understanding of immunological mechanisms underlying SLE and the development of new treatment strategies. Lupus (2011) 20, 575-587.
- Poor prognosis indicators of type-2 diabetic COVID-19 patients(2022) GORJAO, R.; HIRABARA, S. M.; MASI, L. N.; SERDAN, T. D. A.; GRITTE, R. B.; HATANAKA, E.; SOUZA-SIQUEIRA, T.; PITHON-CURI, A. C.; LIMA, T. M. de; PITHON-CURI, T. C.; MARCHINI, J. F. M.; MACHADO, M. C. C.; SOUZA, H. P.; CURI, R.Diabetes is associated with a worse prognosis and a high risk of morbidity and mortality in COVID-19 patients. We aimed to evaluate the main factors involved in the poor prognosis in diabetic patients. A total of 984 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 admitted to the hospital were included in this study. Patients were first divided into type-2 diabetic (DM + ) and non-diabetic (DM-) groups. The participants were analyzed based on the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) and on the Quick-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) to find the best prognostic risk score for our study. The DM + and DM- groups were divided into non-severe and severe groups. Comparative and correlative analyses were used to identify the physiological parameters that could be employed for creating a potential risk indicator for DM + COVID-19 patients. We found a poorer prognosis for the DM + COVID-19 patients with a higher ICU admission rate, mechanical ventilation rate, vasopressor use, dialysis, and longer treatment times compared with the DM- group. DM + COVID-19 patients had increased plasma glucose, lactate, age, urea, NEWS, and D-dimer levels, herein referred to as the GLAUND set, and worse prognosis and outcomes when compared with infected DM- patients. The NEWS score was a better indicator for assessing COVID-19 severity in diabetic patients than the q-SOFA score. In conclusion, diabetic COVID-19 patients should be assessed with the NEWS score and GLAUND set for determining their prognosis COVID-19 prognosis.