African animal trypanosomiasis is a major threat to African agriculture causing a loss estimated to 4.5 billion US$ per annum. Trypanosoma congolense is the major causative agent in African animal trypanosomiasis and is transmitted by tsetse flies of the Glossina spp. Congopain, a major cathepsin L-like cysteine peptidase in T. congolense is associated with trypanotolerance in N‘Dama cattle and is a target for an anti-disease vaccine. It is suggested that trypanotolerant cattle control the disease by antibody mediated neutralisation of congopain, and that immunisation of cattle against congopain can mimic trypanotolerance resulting in minimised disease pathology. Susceptible cattle immunised with recombinant catalytic domain of congopain, C2, produced high levels of anti-congopain IgG specific antibodies against congopain, maintained weight and exhibited less severe anaemia. However, there was no effect on the establishment of T. congolense infection and acute anaemia development in trypanosusceptible cattle. It has been suggested that failure of congopain to give full protection of the host may be due to poor presentation to the immune system by conventional adjuvants used in previous studies. The aim of the present study was to improve the presentation of the catalytic domain of congopain (C2) to the immune system, by linking it to the proposed molecular adjuvant, BiP, an ER localised HSP70. A further aim was to localise the domain(s) of BiP where the adjuvant properties reside. BiP consists of an ATPase domain (ATPD), a peptide binding domain (PBD) and a C-terminal domain (C-term). Consequently, BiP69, BiP69 lacking the C-terminal domain (BiP60), BiP coding fragments (ATPD, PBD and C-term) and the C2 coding sequence were amplified by PCR from either genomic T. congolense DNA or plasmid DNA. The PCR products were each sub-cloned into a pTZ57RT vector, and C2 cloned into a pET-28a expression vector. The BiP coding fragments were inserted into the recombinant pET-28a-C2 vector, resulting in pET-28a-BiP69-C2, pET-28a-BiP60-C2, pET-28a-ATPD-C2, pET-28a-PBD-C2 and pET-28a-C-term-C2 coding chimeras. The fusion proteins were expressed in an E. coli system as insoluble inclusion bodies at the expected sizes of 96 kDa (BiP69-C2), 88 kDa (BiP60-C2), 47 kDa (PBD-C2), 34 kDa (C-term-C2) and 27 kDa (C2). However, the ATPD-C2 fusion protein was expressed at a larger and smaller size in different attempts. Protein expression was confirmed by western blots using anti-BiP antibodies and anti-congopain N-terminal peptide antibodies. Recombinantly expressed peptide binding domain (PBD)-C2, C-terminus-C2, BiP69-C2, BiP60-C2 chimeras and a BiP69 fusion protein were purified and refolded by a Ni-NTA based one-step on-column refolding method. Bacterial proteins co-purifying with BiP69-C2 and BiP60-C2 chimeras were removed by incubation with 5 mM ATP in the dissociation buffer, but poor yields resulted in using these chimeras as non-pure proteins. Immunisation of Balb/c mice with the BiP69-C2 fusion protein chimera induced a higher antibody response to C2 compared to immunisation with the BiP69/C2 mixture or with C2 in Adjuphos/Quil A. BiP69-C2 and PBD-C2 chimeras and BiP69/C2 mixture induced a robust antibody response to BiP69, but no correlation could be made with the contribution to control of parasitemia and disease induced pathology. Mice immunised with BiP69-C2 and PBD-C2 chimeras showed a better booster effect of T. congolense infection with higher anti-C2 antibody stimulation compared to control groups. Immunisation did not change the establishment of T. congolense infection and anaemia development in most immunised groups. However, mice immunised with the BiP69/C2 mixture and with the PBD-C2 chimera produced anti-C2 antibodies possible contributing to clearing parasites 10 days and 16 days earlier respectively, than mice immunised with BiP69-C2, C-term-C2 and BiP60-C2 chimeras and PBS, C2 and C2 in Adjuphos/Quil A control groups and showed no clinical symptoms of the disease. There was no significant difference in percentage mice survival between BiP-C2 chimera immunised mice and control groups immunised with C2 alone or with a mixture of Adjuphos/Quil A or immunised with PBS. In the present study, it was shown that BiP69 has adjuvant effects when linked to C2 and that its peptide binding domain acts as an adjuvant. It is possible that the removal of the C-terminal domain reduced the adjuvant potency of the peptide binding domain suggesting a prominent role in the adjuvant effect of the BiP molecule. Finding the exact role of the C-terminal domain in the adjuvant effect of BiP would be of utmost interest, and would involve comparing anti-C2 antibody response produced by immunisation with C2 linked to the peptide binding domain with or without the C-terminal domain. Future work includes repeating this study in trypanosusceptible cattle to confirm these findings. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

The lack of a vaccine candidate due to antigenic variation by trypanosomal parasites, the causative agents of human and animal African trypanosomiasis, requires the disease to be controlled by surveillance, diagnosis and appropriate treatment schedules. Due to the non-specific symptoms along with the toxicity and side effects of the current trypanocides, diagnosis needs to be accurate, cost effective and applicable to active case finding in mostly rural settings. Trypanosomal proteases have been identified as virulence factors as they are essential to the parasites‟ survival. Here the diagnostic potential of previously described virulence factors, oligopeptidase B (OPB), pyroglutamyl peptidase (PGP) and the full length and catalytic domain of the cathepsin L-like peptidases (CATLFL and CATL respectively) from T. congolense (Tc) as well as OPB and CATL from T. vivax (Tv), was determined. These antigens were recombinantly expressed, purified and used to generate antibodies in chickens. The purified recombinant antigens were tested in an inhibition and indirect ELISA format using two separate blinded serum panels consisting of sera from non-infected and experimentally infected cattle, one each for T. congolense and for T. vivax. The tested sera were diluted 1:10 for the TcCATLFL, TcCATL antigens whilst the TvCATL antigen used a 1:100 serum dilution. The TcCATLFL, TcCATL and TvCATL antigens had the highest diagnostic potential in the indirect ELISA format with a 90.91, 92.21% accuracy at the second cut-off and a 77.22% accuracy at the third cut-off along with 0.8084, 0.7785 and 0.8813 area under curve (AUC) values respectively. These antigens show potential for development of lateral flow tests to detect T. congolense and T. vivax infections in cattle. The recently discovered metacaspases (MCAs) have been implicated in caspase-like activity and differentiation in T. b. brucei, T. cruzi and L. major and are considered to be virulence factors. The putative metacaspase 5 gene from T. congolense (TcMCA5) was successfully cloned, expressed within inclusion bodies, resolubilised and refolded using immobilised metal affinity chromatography. Recombinant TcMCA5 was successfully refolded as evident by the hydrolysis of the synthetic peptide substrate, Z-Gly-Gly-Arg-AMC. Autocatalytic processing was observed within the inclusion bodies and the products were purified along with the full length recombinant protein. Anti-TcMCA5 IgY antibodies, raised in chickens, were able to detect the native TcMCA5 along with the autocatalytic processed products within the lysate of the procyclic T. congolense (strain IL 3000) parasites. The diagnostic potential of TcMCA5 still requires verification. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness is one of the many life threatening tropical diseases posing a serious risk to livelihoods in Africa. The disease is restricted to the rural poor across sub–Saharan Africa, where tsetse flies that transmit the disease, are endemic. Sleeping sickness is known to be caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Trypanosoma brucei, with the two sub-species: T. b. gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense, responsible for causing infection in humans. The disease develops in two stages, firstly, the infection is found in the blood and secondly, when the parasites cross the blood-brain barrier entering the nervous system. To date, no vaccines have been developed, however, there is a range of drugs and treatments available which depend on the type of infection (T. b. gambiense or T. b. rhodesiense) as well as disease stage. The trypanosome parasites have a two-host life cycle i.e. in the mammalian host as well as the tsetse fly vector. Throughout the cycle, the parasite undergoes changes, one of them being the acquisition of a variable surface glycoprotein (VSG) coat prior to entry into the human host bloodstream. Once in the host, the infection progresses and through a phenomenon known as antigenic variation, the parasite expresses a different VSG coat periodically, enabling the parasites to constantly evade the host’s immune response, facilitating their survival. The VSG genes coding for the proteins are activated by an intricate process involving the encoding of a gene which is kept silent, until activated in one of several expression sites. Despite the constant switching of VSG surface coats, there are VSG forms that are predominantly expressed in T. b. gambiense namely VSGs LiTat 1.3, LiTat 1.5 and LiTat 1.6 which are used in diagnostic tests, as antigens to detect antibodies in infected sera of HAT patients. The acquisition of these VSG antigens is, however, of high risk to staff handling the parasites, and so the first part of the study was aimed at cloning, recombinantly expressing and purifying the two VSGs known to be recognised by all gambiense HAT patients: LiTat 1.3 and LiTat 1.5, for possible use as alternative antigens in diagnostic tests. The genes encoding both VSGs, LiTat 1.3 and LiTat 1.5, were first amplified from either genomic or complementary DNA (gDNA or cDNA), cloned into a pTZ57R/T-vector and sub-cloned into pGEX or pET expression vectors prior to recombinant expression in E. coli BL21 DE3 and purification by Ni-affinity chromatography. Amplification and subsequent cloning yielded the expected 1.4 kb and 1.5 kb for the LiTat 1.3 and LiTat 1.5 genes respectively. Recombinant expression in E. coli was only successful with the constructs cloned from cDNA, i.e. the pGEX4T-1-cLiTat 1.3 and pET-28a-cLiTat 1.3 clones. Purification of the 63 kDa cLiTat 1.3His protein following solubilising and refolding did not yield pure protein and there were also signs of protein degradation. For comparison, expression was also carried out in P. pastoris and similar to the bacterial system, expression was only successful with the LiTat 1.3-SUMO construct yielding a 62.7 kDa protein. Purification of LiTat 1.3SUMO also surpassed that of cLiTat 1.3His with no degradation. The diagnostic tests based on VSGs LiTat 1.3 and LiTat 1.5 as antigens operate by binding with antibodies in infected sera, to confirm infection. These antibody detection tests have their limitations, hence an alternative would be antigen detection tests, which use antibodies to detect the respective antigens in infected sera. The second part of the study therefore involved antibody production, where chickens were immunised with the native VSGs LiTat 1.3, LiTat 1.5 as well as recombinant RhoTat 1.2 (a VSG expressed in T. evansi). Antibody production was analysed by ELISA and characterised by western blotting, prior to immunolabelling of T. b. brucei Lister 427 parasites. The chicken IgY showed a response to the immunogens, and were able to detect their respective proteins in the western blot. Interestingly, the anti-nLiTat 1.3, anti-nLiTat 1.5 and anti-rRhoTat 1.2 antibodies were able to detect their respective VSGs on the T. b. brucei trypanosome parasites in the immunofluorescence assay, thus demonstrating cross reactivity. As the antibodies showed specificity, they could potentially detect antigens in infected sera of HAT patients in an antigen detection based test. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Accurate diagnosis of the presence of an infectious organism is very important for therapeutic interventions and consequently the recovery of the individual. There is a need for identifying new diagnostic antigens for the serological diagnosis of trypanosomiasis, a disease of humans and animals in Africa caused by protozoa belonging to the genus Trypanosoma. Invariant surface glycoproteins (ISGs) are present in most strains of the parasite and have the potential to replace the variable surface glycoproteins as diagnostic antigens. In order to avoid the challenges of in vivo culturing of bloodstream form (BSF) trypanosomes in laboratory animals, ISG65 and ISG75, the two most common ISGs were heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris expression systems. The extracellular domains of ISG65 and ISG75 of both T. b. brucei and T. b. gambiense were amplified by PCR from genomic DNA using appropriate primers to give inserts of 1121 bp and 1342 bp sizes. These were sub-cloned into the pGEX-4T1 and pET28a expression vectors. Chemically competent E. coli BL21 (DE3) were transformed using the resultant plasmids and the transformed E. coli cells were used for heterologous protein expression. The expressed proteins were purified by three phase partitioning (TPP), nickel or glutathione affinity and molecular exclusion chromatography and analysed by reducing SDS-PAGE. The glycosylation status of ISG65 and ISG75 expressed in the M5 strain of P. pastoris, which has an engineered N-glycosylation pathway that produces glycosylated proteins similar to what is obtained in trypanosomes, was determined. The enzymatic action of Endoglycosidase H resulted in a shift in the electrophoretic migration of ISG65 but not ISG75 on SDS-PAGE, confirming N-glycosylation. Anti-ISG65 and anti-ISG75 antibodies were produced in chickens and affinity purified using the respective recombinant proteins immobilised on affinity matrices. The antibodies recognised native ISG65 and ISG75 respectively in western blots of lysates of T. b. brucei parasites cultured in vitro. Similar recognition of the native ISGs by the anti-recombinant ISG antibodies was also obtained using immunofluorescence microscopy of fixed T. b. brucei parasites. The results obtained demonstrate the potential of application of the recombinant ISG65 and ISG75 and their respective antibodies in the diagnosis of African trypanosomiasis. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Dissertation (Ph.D.) -- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2008. / Vita. Bibliography: p.121-126

Diss. Univ. Konstanz, 2007.

Orientador: Sueli Aparecida Calvi / Resumo: A doença de Chagas (DC), causada pelo protozoário Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), é uma doença negligenciada e considerada um grave problema de saúde pública. A sua evolução no individuo infectado ocorre em duas fases distintas: a fase aguda que dura de 2 a 4 meses, caracterizada pela alta parasitemia, mas ausência de sinais e sintomas específicos, o que dificulta sua detecção, e a fase crônica na qual a maioria dos indivíduos é diagnosticada. Nessa fase, uma boa parte dos indivíduos apresenta a forma indeterminada ou assintomática da doença. No entanto, cerca de 30 a 40% dos indivíduos infectados desenvolvem a DC sintomática, que pode se apresentar na forma de doença cardíaca ou doença digestiva. Um dos desafios mais importantes no estudo da DC é a determinação dos mecanismos relacionados à resposta imune do hospedeiro que levam a essas diferentes apresentações clinicas. A resposta imune celular via liberação das citocinas pró-inflamatórias como IFN-y, TNF-α e IL-17 é considerada determinante na resistência do hospedeiro. No entanto, um fino controle da liberação dessas citocinas deve ocorrer para que a resposta não se intensifique ou não se perpetue e resulte em lesão tecidual, o que ocorre através da ativação de citocinas anti-inflamatórias como a IL-10 e o TGF-y. Esse controle de resposta seria responsável pelo não aparecimento de sintomas nos indivíduos com doença de Chagas assintomática. Os receptores de reconhecimento padrão (PRRs), particularmente os Toll-Like Receptors... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Chagas disease (CD), caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), is a neglected disease and considered a serious problem of public health. Its evolution in a infected host occurs in two distinct stages: the acute stage which lasts 2 to 4 months and is characterized by high parasitemia, but no detection of specific signs and symptoms, which difficult its detection, and the chronic stage in which most individuals are diagnosed. At this second stage, most individuals present the indeterminate or asymptomatic chronic disease. However, about 30 to 40% of them become symptomatic and present the cardiac or digestive disease. One of the most important challenges in the CD study is to determine the mechanisms related to the host immune response that lead to these different clinical manifestations. The cellular immune response characterized by the release of pró-inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-y, TNF-α and IL-17 is considered crucial in host resistance. However, it is suggested that a fine control of this response must occur in order to avoid a perpetuated inflammatory process which results in tissue injury. This control was found to be responsible by the absence of clinical symptoms in individuals with the indeterminate chronic form and depends on activation of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10 and TGF-β. The pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), particularly the Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs) are extremely important in defining the cytokine profile that will be relea... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

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No. of bitstreams: 1 guiraldi_lm_me_bot.pdf: 5832304 bytes, checksum: abf9a0919d7f06699fed2f2c09bad1b1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-07-22 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / A família Trypanosomatidae inclui agentes etiológicos responsáveis por ocasionar doenças em humanos e demais animais, englobando dezenas de protozoários pertencentes a diferentes gêneros, destacando-se os protozoários representantes dos gêneros Leishmania, causadores das leishmanioses e Trypanosoma, causador de tripanosomíase. Enquanto a transmissão das leishmanioses ocorre devido à picada de insetos fêmeas de flebotomíneos pertencentes ao gênero Phlebotomus no Velho Mundo e Lutzomyia no Novo Mundo, a transmissão da tripanossomíase depende da espécie de tripanosoma envolvida na infecção, podendo ocorrer pela picada de insetos adultos do gênero Glossina; pelas fezes de triatomíneos, sobretudo do gênero Triatoma e mecanicamente por moscas hematófagas, principalmente do gênero Stomoxys. Além dos humanos, animais domésticos e silvestres podem atuar como reservatórios de tripanosomatídeos, incluindo os primatas não humanos, os quais estão associados com o ciclo enzoótico das leishmanioses e tripanosomíase, sendo que a infecção natural por protozoários do gênero Trypanosoma e Leishmania em mamíferos selvagens é comum na natureza. O objetivo do trabalho foi pesquisar tripanosomatídeos em primatas de cativeiro procedentes do Parque Zoológico Municipal de Bauru – SP por meio de anticorpos contra o parasito e pela amplificação do DNA do protozoário. Para tanto, foram coletadas amostras de sangue de 39 primatas. A técnica molecular de Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase (PCR) foi aplicada na pesquisa de Leishmania braziliensis, Leishmania amazonensis e Leishmania infantum, utilizando-se primers espécie-específicos, direcionados à região do kDNA dos parasitos, sendo todos os animais negativos. Porém, com a utilização de primers para a região ribossomal (ITS-1), específicos para a família Trypanosomatidae, 37 dos 39 (94,9%) animais foram positivos para Trypanosoma spp. Realizou-se também a prova sorológica de Reação de Imunofluorescência Indireta (RIFI) para Leishmania braziliensis, Leishmania infantum e Leishmania amazonensis, revelando um animal da espécie Erythrocebus patas (macaco-pata) positivo para Leishmania braziliensis com título 160. Os resultados demonstram que os primatas do zoológico estão susceptíveis à infecção por tripanosomatídeos, alertando-se para a necessidade de busca ativa de vetores flebotomíneos e triatomíneos nos recintos e arredores, como medida preventiva para o risco de infecção aos funcionários e visitantes. / The family Trypanosomatidae includes etiological agents responsible for causing diseases in humans and other animals. There are dozens of protozoa belonging to different genres, especially protozoa representatives of Leishmania genre, which causes leishmaniasis and Trypanosoma, responsible for trypanosomiasis. While the transmission of leishmaniasis is due to the bites of female sand flies belonging to the genus Phlebotomus in the Old World and Lutzomyia in the New World, the transmission of trypanosomiasis depends on the species of trypanosome involved in the infection. It may occurs by the bite of adult insects of the genus Glossina or by the feces of insects, especially by the genre Triatoma and mechanically by bloodsucking flies, especially the Stomoxys genre. In addition to humans, domestic and wild animals can act as trypanosomatids reservoirs, including non-human primates, which are associated with the enzootic cycle of leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis; the natural infection by Trypanosoma and Leishmania protozoa in wild mammals is common in nature. The aim of the study was to investigate trypanosomatids in captive primates coming from Municipal Zoological Park of Bauru by antibodies against the parasite and the amplification of the DNA of the parasite. For this, blood samples were collected from 39 primates. The molecular technique of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was applied in research for Leishmania braziliensis, Leishmania amazonensis and Leishmania infantum using species-specific primers directed to the region of kDNA parasites; all animals were negative by this technique. However, with the use of primers for the ribosomal region (ITS-1) specific to Trypanosomatidae family, 37 of 39 (94.9%) animals were positive for Trypanosoma spp. It was also conducted serological evidence by the Immunofluorescente Antibody Test (IFAT) for Leishmania braziliensis, Leishmania infantum e Leishmania amazonensis, revealing one (01) animal Erythrocebus patas (patas monkey) positive for Leishmania braziliensis, with titer 160. The results show that primates from Municipal Zoological Park of Bauru are susceptible to infection by trypanosomatids, alerting the need for active search for sandfly vectors and triatomines in the grounds and surrounding areas, as a preventive measure for the risk of infection for staff and visitors. / FAPESP: 2014/12187-0

Submitted by MIRIAN DOS SANTOS PAIXÃO null (mirianspaixao@bol.com.br) on 2017-08-03T22:22:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Final- Mirian dos Santos Paixão.pdf: 3906453 bytes, checksum: ebf95becc548ea4de5ab6f56f8c74757 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by LUIZA DE MENEZES ROMANETTO (luizamenezes@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2017-08-04T17:33:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 paixao_ms_dr_bot.pdf: 3906453 bytes, checksum: ebf95becc548ea4de5ab6f56f8c74757 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-04T17:33:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 paixao_ms_dr_bot.pdf: 3906453 bytes, checksum: ebf95becc548ea4de5ab6f56f8c74757 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-07-10 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / A família Trypanosomatidae é composta por protozoários flagelados da ordem Kinetoplastidae. Os protozoários do gênero Trypanosoma, causadores das tripanossomíases e gênero Leishmania, causadores das leishmanioses, são os parasitos de maior interesse médico e veterinário As tripanossomíases são causadas por diferentes espécies, dentre elas: Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma. theileri, Trypanosoma equiperdum, Trypanosoma evansi e Trypanosoma vivax, sendo os três últimos de maior importância para os animais de produção, causando prejuízos econômicos para o setor agropecuário. Com o objetivo de avaliar a ocorrência de tripanosomatídeos no municipío de Bauru-SP, região endêmica para leishmaniose, foram avaliados 200 animais, sendo 100 bovinos (Bos taurus) e 100 equídeos (Eqqus spp.), procedentes de áreas urbanas e periurbanas do município. Para entender a distribuição de fatores de riscos na análise espacial, avaliou-se fatores epidemiológicos das leishmanioses, relacionados a seu diagnóstico nos animais de produção avaliados e também em cães e em humanos em diferentes bairros do município de Bauru, visando sua compreensão e integrá-las a estratégias de controle da doença. O diagnóstico dos animais foi baseado em técnicas parasitológicas: esfregaço sanguíneo e hemocultura; sorológicas: Reação de Imunofluorescência Indireta (RIFI) e Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) e moleculares: Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase (PCR) e seqüenciamento. Não foram encontradas formas sugestivas de protozoários em esfregaço sanguíneo, mas a análise de hemocultura de sete animais permitiu a visualização desses protozoários. Às técnicas sorológicas para Leishmania spp., 25% dos bovinos e 16% dos eqüídeos foram reagentes à RIFI e 24% dos equídeos e 6% dos bovinos reagentes ao ELISA. A PCR foi realizada a partir de amostras de sangue, hemocultura, suabes conjuntivais e ectoparasitos, com primers que amplificam a região ITS e HSP70. A partir de amostras de sangue, 23% dos bovinos e 6% dos eqüídeos foram positivos e sete amostras de hemocultura de bovinos foram positivas, com pelo menos um dos primers. As amostras de ectoparasitos e suabes não apresentaram positividade à PCR. Em amostras de bovinos positivas à PCR foram identificadas espécies do gênero Leishmania infantum, Leishmania donovani e Trypanosoma theileri e em amostras de eqüídeos, foram identificadas espécie do gênero Leishmania: Leishmania donovani. Os resultados obtidos às provas parasitológicas, sorológicas e/ou moleculares sugerem a presença de tripanosomatídeos em animais de produção do município no Bauru-SP. No presente estudo, pela análise espacial, sugere-se o papel de proteção dos animais de produção para a ocorrência de leishmaniose em humanos. / The family Trypanosomatidae is composed of flagellate protozoa of the order Kinetoplastida, divided into 10 genera. The Trypanosoma protozoa, which cause trypanosomiasis and Leishmania genus, which cause leishmaniosis, are the parasites of major medical and veterinary interest. Trypanosomiasis is caused by different species, among them: Trypanosoma cruzi, T. theileri, T. equiperdum, T . evansi and T. vivax, which affect production animals, causing economic damages to the agricultural sector. In order to evaluate the occurrence of trypanosomatids in the municipality of Bauru-SP, a region endemic for leishmaniosis, the present study evaluated 200 animals, 100 cattle (Bos taurus) and 100 equidae (Eqqus spp.) from urban and peri-urban areas of the municipality. In the spatial analysis, in order to understand the distribution of risk factors, we evaluated the epidemiological factors of leishmaniasis, related to its diagnosis in the studied animals, in dogs and in humans as well, from different districts of Bauru city, aiming a better comprehension and the strategies for the control of this disease. The diagnosis was based on parasitological techniques: blood smear and blood culture; serological tests: Immunofluorescence Antibody Test (IFAT) and Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA); and molecular: Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and sequencing. No suggestive forms of protozoa were found in blood smears, but the blood culture analysis of seven animals allowed visualization of these protozoa. To the serological techniques for Leishmania spp., 25% of the cattle and 16% of the equines were reactive to IFAT and 24% of the equines and 6% of the cattle reactive to ELISA. PCR was performed from blood samples, blood cultures, conjunctival swabs and ectoparasites, with primers from the ITS and HSP70 region. From blood samples, 23% of cattle and 6% of equines were positive and seven samples of bovine blood culture were positive, with at least one of the primers. Samples of ectoparasites and swabs showed no PCR positivity. Specimens of the genus Leishmania infantum, Leishmania donovani and Trypanosoma theileri were identified in specimens of PCR positive bovines, and species of the genus Leishmania: Leishmania donovani were identified in equine samples. The results obtained for the parasitological, serological and / or molecular tests suggest the presence of trypanosomatids in animals of the municipality of Bauru-SP. In this study, by the spatial analysis, the role of protection of the production animals for the occurrence of leishmaniosis in humans is suggested. / FAPESP: 2014/15808-6

No description available.