ABSTRACT Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection is often silent and can lead to long-term reproductive complications in women. In this study, we determined the prevalence of CT infection and possible associations between the presence of the infection and clinical-epidemiological variables in pregnant women attended at the Basic Health Units of the Coari city, Amazonas, Brazil. From July 2016 to March 2017, 164 pregnant women undergoing prenatal care were recruited. One hundred of these women were tested for CT infection using two types of samples: cervico-vaginal and urine. The diagnosis was confirmed by PCR with primers specific for the omp1 gene of CT chromosomal DNA. Of the 100 pregnant women, 18 (18%) had CT infection, 8 (8%) of which were positive in both samples, 7 (7%) only in the urine sample and 3 (3%) only in cervical-vaginal sample. There was moderate agreement (Kappa=0.55) and no statistically significant difference between sample types (p = 0.400). The mean age of infected women was 21.1 years (SD = 4.6). Of the clinical-epidemiological variables analyzed, “more than 2 partners in the last 12 months” (p = 0.022) and gynecological complaint of “pain after intercourse” (p = 0.020) were associated with CT infection. This study showed a high prevalence (18%) of CT infection among pregnant women in Coari / Amazonas. Urine sampales were as good as cervical-vaginal ones for the screening of CT infection during the prenatal period.

OBJETIVO: Testar a presença de DNA de Citomegalovírus Humano (HCMV) e Herpesvírus Simples tipo 2 (HSV-2) em amostras cervicais de mulheres atendidas em um serviço de atenção primária à saúde no município de Coari, Amazonas, Brasil. MÉTODOS: Participaram deste estudo 361 mulheres sexualmente ativas, variando entre 18 e 78 anos, atendidas em Unidades Básicas de Saúde para exame ginecológico de rotina. As amostras cervicais foram coletadas por meio de escova endocervical. A detecção dos vírus deu-se por meio de Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase (PCR) em tempo real. RESULTADOS: A média de idade das mulheres participantes foi de 36,4 anos (desvio-padrão (DP)=13,4). Foi encontrado DNA de HCMV em amostras cervicais de 30 mulheres (8,3%; IC95% 5,8 - 11,8) e de HSV-2 em 2 mulheres (0,6%; IC95% 0,1 - 2,2). Duas mulheres relataram ser portadoras do HIV, estando uma delas infectada com o HCMV. Não foram encontradas associações estatisticamente significativas entre a infecção pelos patógenos estudados e as variáveis socioeconômicas, clínicas e comportamentais. CONCLUSÕES: A prevalência de infecção pelo HCMV encontrada na amostra estudada chama a atenção para a necessidade do rastreio desse vírus na gestação e da vigilância nos pacientes imunocomprometidos. A baixa prevalência do HSV-2 deve-se provavelmente ao fato de a amostra cervical não ser adequada para este tipo de estudo por causa das características da biologia viral relacionadas à neurolatência.

PURPOSE: To detect the presence of Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and Herpes Simplex Virus type 2 (HSV-2) DNA in cervical samples from women assisted in a primary health care clinic in the city of Coari, Amazonas, Brazil. METHODS: Participated in this study 361 sexually active women between 18 and 78 years. They were been assisted in a Basic Health Care Clinic for routine gynecological exam. The cervical samples were collected using endocervical brush. The viruses were detected using real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique. RESULTS: Mean age was 36.4 years (standard deviation (SD)=13.4). HCMV DNA was found in cervical samples from 30 women (8.3%; IC95% 5.8 - 11.8) and HSV 2 DNA in 2 women (0.6%; IC95% 0.1 - 2.2). Two women related being HIV positive, one of them infected with HCMV. There were no statistically significant associations between infections by the pathogens studied and socioeconomic, clinical or behavioral variables. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of the HCMV infection found in the sample points to the need for screening of the virus during pregnancy and surveillance in immunocompromised patients. The low prevalence of HSV-2 found is probably due to the fact that cervical sampling is not appropriate for this type of study because of the characteristics of viral biology related to neurovirulence.

INTRODUÇÃO: O carcinoma de células escamosas oral (OSCC) representa a neoplasia maligna mais freqüente em boca, e, entre os agentes etiológicos implicados, o papilomavírus humano (HPV) tem sido extensivamente estudado nos últimos anos. OBJETIVO: Analisar comparativamente os índices de proliferação celular em OSCCs HPV-negativos e HPV-positivos. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: A amostra consistiu em 11 casos de OSCCs HPV-positivos (10 infectados por HPV-18 e um por HPV-16 e 18) e 13 HPV-negativos, previamente analisados quanto à presença ou ausência, bem quanto à tipagem viral por proteína C reativa (PCR) (primers GP5+/GP6+) e hibridização dot blot, respectivamente. No método imunoistoquímico utilizou-se a técnica da estreptoavidina-biotina, com anticorpo para a proteína nuclear Ki-67. RESULTADOS: O teste estatístico não-paramétrico de Mann-Whitney revelou que não houve diferença estatisticamente significativa entre os grupos HPV-positivo e HPV-negativo (p = 0,72). Discussão: Os estudos semelhantes a estes são poucos e não são concordantes em demonstrar maior atividade proliferativa tumoral nos casos HPV-positivos em relação aos HPV-negativos, seja através da análise da expressão de proteínas relacionadas ao ciclo celular, seja na análise direta da fração proliferativa tumoral. CONCLUSÃO: Não houve diferença no índice de proliferação celular entre os grupos de OSCCs HPV-positivo e HPV-negativos.

BACKGROUND: Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common malignant tumor in the mouth, and the human papillomavirus (HPV) has been hardly studied as a possible etiologic agent. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the rates of cell proliferation in HPV-positive and HPV-negative OSCC, using the immunohistochemical antibody Ki-67. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The sample consisted of 11 cases HPV-positive OSCC (10 cases infected with HPV-18 and 1 case infected with HPV-16 and 18) and 13 cases HPV-negative OSCCs, previously analyzed regarding the presence or absence of HPV, as well as the viral type, using PCR (primers GP5+/GP6+) and dot blot hybridization, respectively. Immunohistochemical study was performed by streptoavidin-biotin technique with antibody against nuclear protein Ki-67. RESULTS: The mean of positivity index of the HPV-positive OSCC (17.7%) was greater than HPV-negative OSCC (14.2%), however the statistic analysis showed that standard deviation in both groups was very high, almost equal the mean (14% and 9.5%, respectively). The Mann-Whitney non-parametric statistic test disclosed that there wasn't a significantly statistical difference between the groups. DISCUSSION: Similar studies to these are few and they are not concordant in demonstrating a bigger tumoral proliferative activity in those cases infected by HPV in relation to those not infected, either through the analysis of the protein expression related to the cellular cycle as in the direct analysis of the tumoral proliferative fraction. CONCLUSION: There were not differences in the rates of cell proliferation between the HPV-positive and HPV-negative grups.

O fibroma de células gigantes, a hiperplasia fibrosa e o fibroma constituem algumas das mais freqüentes lesões fibrosas orais, compartilhando características clínicas e histopatológicas. Este estudo teve o objetivo de investigar a imunorreatividade das células gigantes estreladas mono, bi ou multinucleadas, características do fibroma de células gigantes e, ocasionalmente presentes na hiperplasia fibrosa e no fibroma, a anticorpos anti-vimentina e anti-actina de músculo (HHF-35), visando detectar características fenotípicas destas células. Os resultados demonstraram que na maioria dos casos houve imunorreatividade para a vimentina, sugerindo um fenótipo fibroblástico para estas células.

The giant cell fibroma, fibrous hyperplasia and fibroma are the most frequent fibrous oral lesions, sharing clinical and histopathological features. The purpose of this study was to investigate the immunoreactivity of the large stellate-shaped mononuclear and multinucleated cells, reported as the most characteristic histological feature of the giant cell fibroma but present occasionally in fibrous hyperplasia and fibroma, for the antibodies vimentin and HHF-35 in order to detect phenotypical characteristic of these cells. The results showed in the most of cases positive staining for vimentin, suggesting a fibroblast phenotype for these cells.