title: DNA-hsp65 vaccine as therapeutic strategy to treat experimental chromoblastomycosis caused by Fonsecaea pedrosoi.
abstract: Chromoblastomycosis (CBM) is a chronic subcutaneous mycosis, caused by several dimorphic, pigmented dematiaceous fungi. Patients with the disease are still considered a therapeutic challenge, mainly due to its recalcitrant nature. There is no "gold standard" treatment for this neglected mycosis, but rather there are several treatment options. Chemotherapy alternatives include 5-flucytosine, itraconazole, terbinafine, fluconazole, thiabendazole, ketoconazole and amphotericin B, although the healing of severe cases is still uncommon. However, several studies have reported the DNA vaccine to be promising in the treatment for fungal infections; this vaccine allows the host to restore depressed cellular immunity, minimizing the toxic effects from conventional antifungal therapies. This work was therefore carried out aiming to establish a suitable model for experimental CBM, suggesting also new therapies, including DNA-hsp65 vaccine. By analyzing the morphometrical and histopathological aspects and by quantifying the fungal burden, the results showed the establishment of a chronic, although transitory, experimental CBM model with lesions similar to those presented in humans. A treatment regimen using intralesional itraconazole or amphotericin B was effective in treating experimental CBM, as was a therapy using naked DNA-hsp65 vaccine. It has also been shown that chemotherapy associated with DNA-hsp65 vaccine is promising in the treatment for CBM.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Pathology Post-Graduate Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
authors.forename: Isaque Medeiros
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Siqueira
authors.forename: Alice Melo
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Yanna Karla de Medeiros
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Nóbrega
authors.forename: Karina Smidt
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Ana Camila Oliveira
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.forename: Márcio Souza
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Jerônimo
authors.forename: Florêncio Figueiredo
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Cavalcante Neto
authors.forename: Célio Lopes
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Maria Sueli Soares
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Felipe
authors.forename: Anamélia Lorenzetti
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Bocca
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D018834:Chaperonin 60 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D002862:Chromoblastomycosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019444:Vaccines, DNA / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D018834:Chaperonin 60; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D019444:Vaccines, DNA; C074119:heat-shock protein 65, Mycobacterium