Chapters authored
A View of Platelets in Dengue
Platelets were mainly associated with coagulation and hemostasis; however, other biological effects have been attributed to platelets, including angiogenesis, extracellular matrix synthesis, inflammation, and immune response. Dengue virus infection causes 200 million cases of severe flu-like illness annually, escalating to life-threatening hemorrhagic fever or shock syndrome. Some hypotheses are postulated for immunopathogenesis of dengue, including antibody enhancement theory, T-cell activation of cross-reactive memory, and original antigenic sin. All hypotheses, to some extent, induce an overproduction or a skewed profile of cytokine release, giving rise to the term cytokine storm/cytokine tsunami. Although thrombocytopenia is typical of both mild and severe diseases, the mechanism triggering platelet reduction is incompletely understood. In dengue, platelets are one of the major cell populations affected by direct and/or indirect mechanisms of infection. It is common to observe both thrombocytopenia and platelet dysfunction in dengue, both strongly related to the clinical outcome. Thus, platelets are frequently affected in dengue, either for alteration of their own functionality, for “silent transport” of virus, or as an anti-viral immune cell. In this way, we describe some of functional aspects of platelets on dengue, observing circulating mediators, intraplatelet proteins contents, morphology, activation markers, and ability to interact with dengue virus.
Part of the book: Thrombocytopenia
Innate Immunity Modulation during Zika Virus Infection on Pregnancy: What We Still Need to Know for Medical Sciences Breakthrough
Zika virus (ZIKV), an arthropod-borne flavivirus, was classified as reemerging infectious disease and included as neglected tropical disease. During the recent ZIKV outbreak in South America, it has been demonstrated that ZIKV infection during pregnancy is strongly associated with fetal loss, malformations and neurological disorders in newborns. Despite the first line of host immune defense is related to innate immunity activation, the immunological homeostasis is essential for pregnancy success. Although the dynamic changes in maternal-fetal immunity is not completely understood and poorly investigated, the knowledge of immune responses during gestation is very important for infectious disease prevention and control, as ZIKV. Here, we put together more and new information about the innate immunity during gestation, highlighting three parts probably involved with clinical outcome and/or not well explored in literature: 1) type III interferon; 2) innate regulatory cells; and 3) cell death pathways modulation. Additionally, we will be focused on discussing how the dynamic responses of innate immune system during pregnancy and its effects in newborns, could be modulated by ZIKV, as well as how efforts on development of new/old drugs and vaccines could be effective for ZIKV prevention and control to provide a successful pregnancy.
Part of the book: Cell Interaction