Como a imunoproteção na Paracoccidioidomicose (PCM) é principalmente mediada por células T, investigamos o impacto da deficiência de CD28, molécula co-estimulatória de linfócitos T, na gravidade da infecção primária e secundária pelo Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. Quando comparados a camundongos C57Bl/6 normais (WT), camundongos CD28-deficientes (CD28KO) apresentaram infecção mais grave associada à produção diminuída de anticorpos e citocinas. Além disso, a pré-imunização de animais deficientes e normais resultou em imunoproteção equivalente. Inesperadamente, a sobrevida de animais CD28KO foi significativamente maior que a dos WT, apesar da sua elevada carga fúngica tecidual. Em conclusão, nosso trabalho mostrou que a deficiência de CD28 resulta em PCM mais grave, porém não letal, associada a resposta imune deficiente. Além disso, verificamos que carga fúngica elevada, na ausência da imunidade adaptativa efetora, não ocasiona diminuição de sobrevida, revelando que a resposta imune na PCM pode tanto proteger como ser deletéria aos hospedeiros. / As immunoprotection in Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is mainly mediated by T cells, and CD28 is a costimulatory molecule for T lymphocytes, we investigated the influence of CD28 deficiency in primary and secondary PCM. Compared with normal C57BL/6 mice, CD28-deficient (CD28KO) mice developed a more severe infection associated with impaired antibody and cytokine production. In addition, CD28KO and WT mice previously immunized by the s.c. route developed equivalent immunoprotection when challenged by the pulmonary route. Interestingly, CD28KO mice presented increased mean survival time despite their elevated fungal loads in the lungs. In conclusion, our work showed, for the first time, that CD28-deficiency results in more severe, but not overwhelming, PCM. Furthermore, in the absence of effector adaptative immunity, elevated fungal loads do not cause lethal infections, revealing the protective and deleterious effects of immune responses to Paracoccidioides brasiliensis infected hosts.

Como a imunoproteção na Paracoccidioidomicose (PCM) é principalmente mediada por células T, investigamos o impacto da deficiência de CD28, molécula co-estimulatória de linfócitos T, na gravidade da infecção primária e secundária pelo Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. Quando comparados a camundongos C57Bl/6 normais (WT), camundongos CD28-deficientes (CD28KO) apresentaram infecção mais grave associada à produção diminuída de anticorpos e citocinas. Além disso, a pré-imunização de animais deficientes e normais resultou em imunoproteção equivalente. Inesperadamente, a sobrevida de animais CD28KO foi significativamente maior que a dos WT, apesar da sua elevada carga fúngica tecidual. Em conclusão, nosso trabalho mostrou que a deficiência de CD28 resulta em PCM mais grave, porém não letal, associada a resposta imune deficiente. Além disso, verificamos que carga fúngica elevada, na ausência da imunidade adaptativa efetora, não ocasiona diminuição de sobrevida, revelando que a resposta imune na PCM pode tanto proteger como ser deletéria aos hospedeiros. / As immunoprotection in Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is mainly mediated by T cells, and CD28 is a costimulatory molecule for T lymphocytes, we investigated the influence of CD28 deficiency in primary and secondary PCM. Compared with normal C57BL/6 mice, CD28-deficient (CD28KO) mice developed a more severe infection associated with impaired antibody and cytokine production. In addition, CD28KO and WT mice previously immunized by the s.c. route developed equivalent immunoprotection when challenged by the pulmonary route. Interestingly, CD28KO mice presented increased mean survival time despite their elevated fungal loads in the lungs. In conclusion, our work showed, for the first time, that CD28-deficiency results in more severe, but not overwhelming, PCM. Furthermore, in the absence of effector adaptative immunity, elevated fungal loads do not cause lethal infections, revealing the protective and deleterious effects of immune responses to Paracoccidioides brasiliensis infected hosts.

Flavobacterium psychrophilum est l’agent pathogène des flavobactérioses d’eau froide touchant essentiellement les salmonidés dont la truite arc-en-ciel Oncorhynchus mykiss d’élevage. Cette bactérie Gram négative a un très fort impact économique en aquaculture car elle peut causer jusqu'à 70 % de mortalité dans les bassins d’élevage. La flavobactériose se décline sous deux formes pathologiques : la maladie de l’eau froide touchant les poissons adultes et le syndrome de l’alevin de truite arc-en-ciel touchant les juvéniles.Au cours de se travail, une méthode de PCR quantitative a été proposée. Elle permet en moins de trois heures de détecter et de quantifier un nombre de copies du gène codant l’ARNr 16S de la bactérie dans les tissus du poisson. Cette méthode a été testée sur différentes suspensions bactériennes (F. psychrophilum, autres flavobactéries, autres pathogènes) afin d’en valider la spécificité. La sensibilité de la méthode de détection a été évaluée à 1 et 2 bactéries par PCR en fonction de la matrice biologique utilisée.Une étude écotoxicologique a été menée et montre d’une part que F. psychrophilum est une bactérie hyper-sensible au cadmium comparée aux autres bactéries Gram négatives. Sa croissance est diminuée d’un facteur 2 en présence d’une contamination au Cd à 0,4 µM. D’autre part, nous avons constaté qu’une contamination de truites juvéniles par 1 µg CdCl2/L (2 mois) et une injection de 5 × 107 flavobactéries par individu (1 mois) ne provoque aucune mortalité. L’expression génique mesurée sur ses poissons démontre que le cadmium peut avoir des effets contradictoires sur le système immunitaire du poisson, pouvant soit exacerber ou diminuer la réponse immunitaire selon l’organe considéré. Un travail comparatif de la prévalence de la flavobactérie dans 7 sites aquacoles d’Aquitaine a démontré que la flavobactérie est omniprésente et que sa pathogénicité est contrôlée par le système immunitaire des poissons en bonne santé apparente. L’expression génique mesurée sur les poissons malades et apparemment sains nous apporte deux informations importantes : 1/ les gènes codant pour la métallothionéine A et l’interleukine 1-β sont de bons bio-marqueurs de la maladie et 2/ la répression des gènes codant pour le complexe majeur d’histocompatibilité 2-β, le facteur de croissance transformant β, le cluster de différentiation 8-α et l’immunoglobuline T dans la rate des poissons malades montre un effondrement du système immunitaire acquis nous permettant d’émettre l’hypothèse que ce phénomène déclenche l’apparition de la maladie. Ainsi, F. psychrophilum aurait un comportement de pathogène à virulence latente.Afin d’imaginer de nouvelles mesures prophylactiques et pour mieux comprendre la pathogénicité de la bactérie, une analyse du protéome de la membrane externe couplée à l’annotation du génome séquencé a été effectuée. Il a été identifié entre autres 1/ des protéines d’adhésion et d’invasion des tissus et 2/ des protéines d’acquisition de métabolites de l’hôte. De plus, un nombre important de protéines immunogènes chez la truite potentiellement utilisable dans un cocktail vaccinant a été détecté. Afin de chercher un vecteur pour ce cocktail, des nanoparticules d’acide γ-glutamique et phénylalanine d’environ 100 à 200 nm de diamètre ont été synthétisées. Ces dernières constituent une approche séduisante pour vacciner les poissons avec des antigènes de F. psychrophilum encapsulés puis incorporés dans la nourriture. / Flavobacterium psychrophilum is the causative agent of cold water flavobacteriosis, a condition affecting mostly salmonid fish, including the farmed rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. This Gram negative bacterium can cause up to 70% mortality in breeding tanks and has a very strong economic impact on the fish farming industry. Flavobacteriosis can take two pathological forms: the cold water disease affecting adult fish and the rainbow trout fry syndrome affecting juveniles.In the present study, a method of quantitative PCR was devised that allowed for the detection and the quantification, within three hours, of the 16S rRNA copy number in fish tissues. This method’s specificity was confirmed through the use of various bacterial suspensions (F.psychrophilum, others flavobacteria and others pathogens) and its detection limit was estimated to be 1 and 2 bacteria in broth and in biological matrices, respectively.An ecotoxicological study was then performed that showed that, on the one hand, F. psychrophilum is cadmium hypersensitive compared to others Gram negative bacteria because its growth rate, compared to a control, is decreased by a factor 2 at a cadmium concentration of 0,4 µM. On the other hand, we observed that subjecting rainbow trout juveniles to a concentration of 1 µg CdCl2/L for2 months prior to an injection of 5 × 107 F. psychrophilum by fish didn’t lead to any mortality. The gene expression which was measured on these fish demonstrated that cadmium can have contradictory effects on the immune system of fish, which could enhance or decrease the immune response depending of the organ. A comparative work of the prevalence of flavobacteria in 7 fish farms within the Aquitaine region (France) demonstrated that the bacterium was endemic and present in asymptomatic fish. Gene expression levels were measured on diseased and asymptomatic fish and demonstrated that the genes metallothionein A and interleukine 1-β were good biomarkers of the disease and that repression of the genes major histocompatibility complex 2-β, transforming growth factor -β, cluster of differentiation α and immunoglobulin T in the spleen of diseased fish was indicative of a collapse of the acquired immune system. We therefore hypothesized that this event marked the beginning of the disease and that F. psychrophilum is mostly an opportunistic pathogen.To prepare the development of new prophylactic techniques and to understand better the bacterium pathogenicity, an analysis of the outer membrane proteome coupled with sequencing of the bacterial genome was also performed. Furthermore, a significant number of immunogenic proteins were identified as good candidates for the preparation of a vaccine. Finally, γ-glutamic acid and phenylalanine nanoparticles of about 100 - 200 nm in diameter were synthesized to serve as potential vector for this vaccine. These nanoparticles should be tested to administrate F. psychrophilum antigens to fish through the digestive route.