ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>25º Congresso Brasileiro de Microbiologia </TITLE><link rel=STYLESHEET type=text/css href=css.css></HEAD><BODY aLink=#ff0000 bgColor=#FFFFFF leftMargin=0 link=#000000 text=#000000 topMargin=0 vLink=#000000 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><table align=center width=700 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td align=left bgcolor=#cccccc valign=top width=550><font face=arial size=2><strong><font face=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif size=3><font size=1>25º Congresso Brasileiro de Microbiologia </font></font></strong><font face=Verdana size=1><b><br></b></font><font face=Verdana, Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif size=1><strong> </strong></font></font></td><td align=right bgcolor=#cccccc valign=top width=150><font face=arial size=2><strong><font face=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif size=1><font size=1>ResumoID:1339-1</font></em></font></strong></font></td></tr><tr><td colspan=2><br><br><table align=center width=700><tr><td>Área: <b>Micologia Médica ( Divisão B )</b><p align=justify><strong><B><FONT SIZE=2> <P ALIGN=CENTER>ATTENUATION OF <I>SPOROTHRIX SCHENCKII</I> YEAST CELLS BY GAMMA RADIATION FOR VACCINE RESEARCH <BR><BR></P></B></FONT> <P ALIGN=JUSTIFY></P></strong></p><p align=justify><b><u>Camila Maria de Sousa Lacerda Lacerda </u></b> (<i>CDTN</i>); <b>Estefânia Mara do Nascimento Martins Martins </b> (<i>UFMG</i>); <b>Maria Aparecida de Resende Resende </b> (<i>UFMG</i>); <b>Antero Silva Ribeiro de Andrade Andrade </b> (<i>CDTN</i>)<br><br></p><b><font size=2>Resumo</font></b><p align=justify class=tres><font size=2><P align=justify>Sporotrichosis is a subacute or chronic infection caused by the fungus <I>Sporothrix</I> <I>schenckii</I> and the most common subcutaneous mycosis in Latin America. This mycosis develops mainly through penetration of the fungus into the dermis after wounds or abrasion of the skin produced by infected materials or by the inhalation of spores through the respiratory tract. Zoonotic transmission can occur after scratches or bites of animals, mainly cats, rodents, and armadillos. </P> <P align=justify>Up to the moment, no approved vaccine was reported for <I>S. schenckii</I> or to any important pathogenic fungi infection in humans, indicating the need to expand the research in this field and to explore new alternatives. The potential of gamma irradiation as a tool for creating highly effective attenuated vaccines has been recognized since the 50s. Irradiated pathogens frequently lost their virulence, but retained metabolic activity and morphology, and consequently are able to induce a high level of immunity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of gamma radiation in the viability, protein synthesis and reproductive ability of <I>S. schenckii</I> yeast cells for further studies on the development of a radioattenuated vaccine for immunization of cats and dogs.</P> <P align=justify>The cultures of<I> S. schenckii</I>,<I> </I>in solid medium, were irradiated at doses ranging from 1.0 to 9.0 kGy. After each dose the reproductive capacity, the viability and protein synthesis were estimated. The reproductive capacity was measured by the ability of the yeast cells to form colonies. The viability of irradiated cells was measured using the Kit FungaLight CFDA, AM / Propidium Iodide (Invitrogen) 2 and 24 hours after irradiation. The protein synthesis was analyzed by the incorporation of <SUP>35</SUP>S-methionine</P> <P align=justify>The results showed that a reduction of 6 log<SUB>10</SUB> cycles in the number of colonies was achieved at 6.0 kGy and after 8.0 kGy no colonies could be recovered. The analysis of viability and protein metabolism indicated that yeast cells remained viable and able to synthesize proteins up to 9.0 kGy, the higher dose used.</P> <P align=justify>As a hole, our preliminary results point out that for the yeast cells of<I> S. schenckii,</I> it is possible to find an absorbed dose in which the pathogen loses its reproductive ability while retaining its viability and metabolism, a necessary condition for the development of a radioatenuated yeast vaccine. </P><I> <P align=center>Supported by CDTN/CNEN</P></I> <P align=justify>&nbsp;</P> <P>&nbsp;</P><FONT size=4> <P>&nbsp;</P></FONT></font></p><br><b>Palavras-chave: </b>&nbsp;Sporothrix schenckii, vaccine, gamma radiation</td></tr></table></tr></td></table></body></html>