Project description:This study aimed to use pan-viral detection microarrays to identify viruses in serum from cases of acute pediatric febrile illness in a tropical setting. Patient clinical data and serum samples were collected between 2005 and 2009 as part of an ongoing pediatric dengue virus study at the Hospital Infantil Manuel de Jesús Rivera in Managua, Nicaragua. This study focused on patients who presented with dengue-like illness but who tested negative for dengue-virus infection. We hypothesized that non-dengue viruses or previously uncharacterized viruses might be causing these illnesses. The Virochip microarray is capable of detecting known viruses and discovering novel viruses. This series includes 153 arrays corresponding to 148 cases and 5 HeLa controls. Keywords: viral detection, tropical febrile illness, dengue virus, Nicaragua, Virochip
Project description:We explored the differential methylation patterns found in cfDNA between healthy controls (individuals with no colorectal findings, NCF) and patients with advanced neoplasia (advanced adenomas and colorectal cancer, AA andCRC) using pooled samples, to determine if pooled serum cfDNA samples can be used to search for non-invasive methylation biomarkers, as an affordable and efficient alternative to tissue biopsy. cfDNA was extracted from serum samples and methylation measurements were assessed with the Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip. Data was mainly preprocessed and analyzed with R/Bioconductor packages.
Project description:Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) represent a threat to global public health, especially in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. More than 150 arboviruses can infect humans; they cause mainly febrile illness, although hemorrhagic complications and diseases affecting the central nervous system (SNC) can also be observed. Arboviruses represent a threat to Brazil and, therefore, a permanent surveillance of these viruses is required to timely reduce the risk of epidemic outbreaks. The Brazilian Amazon region is where the highest number of arboviruses has been detected in the world. Besides, malaria is also endemic in the Amazon region, with a significant predominance of Plasmodium vivax. It is often difficult to differentiate between malaria and arboviral diseases, as they share similar clinical features and laboratory findings, mainly undifferentiated fever. This study aimed to estimate possible viral etiology in patients with febrile syndrome negative for Plasmodium infection, in the Brazilian Amazon. We initially analyzed serum samples of 124 participants with a DNA microarray platform designed for the detection of arboviruses and viruses transmitted by small mammals, but no virus was detected. Then, the serum samples of 76 participants were analyzed with a deep New Generation Sequencing, which showed evidence of the presence of only one arbovirus, the Zika virus in only one pool of 9 serum samples. This result is in contrast with our hypothesis, showing that arboviruses are not frequent in suspected malaria cases in Manaus, Brazil. Other viruses instead of arboviruses were found in this study. Primate erythrovirus 1 was the virus most frequently found virus in the suspected malaria patients, followed by Enterobacteria phage lambda. Besides, we detected, in a lower frequency, the Pegivirus C. In addition to the exogenous viruses, we also detected human endogenous retrovirus in all pools. Due to the high number of viruses that are important in the differential diagnosis of malaria, cost-effective and simple high throughput methods are required, helping molecular surveillance of misdiagnosed viral infections. Further studies with more robust sample sizes in other areas in the Amazon are needed.
Project description:TaqMan low density array (TLDA) was carried out to screen of the profiles of circulating miRNAs in pooled serum samples from healthy controls and pre-operative meningioma patients. The expression changes of circulating miRNAs in meningioma patients were identified.