Federal University of São Paulo

About: Federal University of São Paulo is a education organization based out in São Paulo, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 27971 authors who have published 49365 publications receiving 935536 citations. The organization is also known as: Universidade Federal de São Paulo & Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo.

Child abuse, depression, and methylation in genes involved with stress, neural plasticity, and brain circuitry.

Abstract: Objectives To determine whether epigenetic markers predict dimensional ratings of depression in maltreated children. Method A genome-wide methylation study was completed using the Illumina 450K BeadChip array in 94 maltreated and 96 healthy nontraumatized children with saliva-derived DNA. The 450K BeadChip does not include any methylation sites in the exact location as sites in candidate genes previously examined in the literature, so a test for replication of prior research findings was not feasible. Results Methylation in 3 genes emerged as genome-wide–significant predictors of depression: DNA-Binding Protein Inhibitor ID–3 ( ID3 ); Glutamate Receptor, Ionotropic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) 1 ( GRIN1 ); and Tubulin Polymerization Promoting Protein ( TPPP ) ( p −7 , all analyses). These genes are all biologically relevant with ID3 involved in the stress response, GRIN1 involved in neural plasticity, and TPPP involved in neural circuitry development. Methylation in CpG sites in candidate genes were not predictors of depression at significance levels corrected for whole genome testing, but maltreated and control children did have significantly different β values after Bonferroni correction at multiple methylation sites in these candidate genes (e.g., BDNF, NR3C1, FKBP5 ). Conclusions This study suggests that epigenetic changes in ID3, GRIN1, and TPPP genes, in combination with experiences of maltreatment, may confer risk for depression in children. The study adds to a growing body of literature supporting a role for epigenetic mechanisms in the pathophysiology of stress-related psychiatric disorders. Although epigenetic changes are frequently long lasting, they are not necessarily permanent. Consequently, interventions to reverse the negative biological and behavioral sequelae associated with child maltreatment are briefly discussed.

Autophagy induction favours the generation and maturation of the Coxiella‐replicative vacuoles

Abstract: Pathogens evolved mechanisms to invade host cells and to multiply in the cytosol or in compositionally and functionally customized membrane-bound compartments. Coxiella burnetii, the agent of Q fever in man is a Gram-negative gamma-proteobacterium which multiplies in large, acidified, hydrolase-rich and fusogenic vacuoles with phagolysosomal-like characteristics. We reported previously that C. burnetii phase II replicative compartments are labelled by LC3, a protein specifically localized to autophagic vesicles. We show here that autophagy in Chinese hamster ovary cells, induced by amino acid deprivation prior to infection with Coxiella increased the number of infected cells, the size of the vacuoles, and their bacterial load. Furthermore, overexpression of GFP-LC3 or of GFP-Rab24 - a protein also localized to autophagic vacuoles - likewise accelerated the development of Coxiella-vacuoles at early times after infection. However, overexpression of mutants of those proteins that cannot be targeted to autophagosomes dramatically decreased the number and size of the vacuoles in the first hours of infection, although by 48 h the infection was similar to that of non-transfected controls. Overall, the results suggest that transit through the autophagic pathway increases the infection with Coxiella by providing a niche more favourable to their initial survival and multiplication.

Epidemiology of opportunistic fungal infections in Latin America.

Abstract: This review discusses the epidemiology of the most clinically relevant opportunistic fungal infections in Latin America, including candidiasis, cryptococcosis, trichosporonosis, aspergillosis, and fusariosis. The epidemiologic features, including incidence, of some of these mycoses are markedly different in Latin America than they are in other parts of the world. The most consistent epidemiologic data are available for candidemia, with a large prospective study in Brazil reporting an incidence that is 3- to 15-fold higher than that reported in studies from North America and Europe. Species distribution also differs: in Latin America, the most common Candida species (other than Candida albicans) causing bloodstream infections are Candida parapsilosis or Candida tropicalis, rather than Candida glabrata.