Rômulo Neris

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro | UFRJ · Departamento de Virologia

Zika virus (ZIKV) emerged as an important infectious disease agent in Brazil in 2016. Infection usually leads to mild symptoms, but severe congenital neurological disorders and Guillain-Barré syndrome have been reported following ZIKV exposure. Creating an effective vaccine against ZIKV is a public health priority. We describe the protective effect...

Besides antigen-specific responses to viral antigens, humoral immune response in virus infection can generate polyreactive and autoreactive antibodies. Dengue and Zika virus infections have been linked to antibody-mediated autoimmune disorders, including Guillain-Barré syndrome. A unique feature of flaviviruses is the secretion of nonstructural pro...

ABSTRACT Zika virus (ZIKV) infection became a worldwide concern due to its correlation with the development of microcephaly and other neurological disorders. ZIKV neurotropism is well characterized, but the role of peripheral viral amplification to brain infection remains unknown. Here, we found that ZIKV replicates in human primary skeletal muscle...

Western blotting is one of the most used techniques in research laboratories. It is popular because it is an easy way of semiquantifying protein amounts in different samples. In Western blotting, the most commonly used method for controlling the differences in the amount of protein loaded is to independently quantify housekeeping proteins (typicall...

Antibodies are key players in controlling viral infections. However, in addition to antigen-specific responses to viral antigens, humoral immune response can generate polyreactive and autoreactive antibodies of unknown function. Dengue and Zika virus infections have been linked to autoimmune disorders including Guillain-Barrè syndrome. A unique fea...

Mayaro virus (MAYV) is a tropical arbovirus first described in forest regions of the South America, and recently associated with urban circulation. Mayaro infections leads to a disease with high rate of persistent arthralgia and myalgia in humans. Despite this, pathogenesis and host immune response of MAYV infections are still limited. The aim of t...

The most widely used Western blotting protein standards are prestained proteins of known molecular mass (kDa). They are also utilized for sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (PAGE) to determine the molecular mass of proteins separated by electrophoresis. The objective of this study was to assess the reliability of diffe...

Zika virus (ZIKV) infections are still a worldwide concern due to the severity of neurological outcomes. ZIKV neurotropism is well characterized, but peripheral tissue could be sites of viral amplification, contributing to endothelial-barrier crossing and access to peripheral nerves. During acute and late phases of infection, ZIKV can be detected i...

Objectives: Survivors of sepsis are frequently left with significant cognitive and behavioral impairments. These complications derive from nonresolving inflammation that persists following hospital discharge. To date, no study has investigated the effects of mesenchymal stromal cell therapy on the blood-brain barrier, astrocyte activation, neuroin...

Mayaro virus (MAYV) is an emergent arbovirus first described in forest regions of the American continent, with recent and increasing notification of urban area circulation. Similar to Chikungunya (CHIKV) and other arthritogenic Alphavirus, MAYV-induced disease shows a high prevalence of persistent arthralgia, and myalgia. Despite this, knowledge re...

Neurological complications affecting the central nervous system have been reported in adult patients infected by Zika virus (ZIKV) but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we report that ZIKV replicates in human and mouse adult brain tissue, targeting mature neurons. ZIKV preferentially targets memory-related brain regions, inhibits hipp...

Mayaro virus (MAYV) is an emergent Arbovirus belonging to the Alphavirus genus from the Togaviridae family which has been circulated in forest regions of American continent through small outbreaks. Recent studies warned for the risk of MAYV dispersion to new areas and for the potential establishment of an urban epidemic cycle. Similar to Chikunguny...

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/587444v1 Abstract Zika virus (ZIKV) emerged as an important infectious disease agent in Brazil in 2016. Infection usually leads to mild symptoms but severe congenital neurological disorders and Guillain-Barre syndrome have been reported following ZIKV exposure. The development of an effective vaccine against...

Introduction The methanol (MeOH) leaf extracts of the species Faramea bahiensis, F. hyacinthina and F. truncata (Rubiaceae) have previously shown in vitro non‐cytotoxic and anti‐dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV2) activities in human hepatocarcinoma cell lineage (HepG2). Chemical studies have led to the isolation of major flavonoids, but quite complex...

The global situation of diseases transmitted by arthropod-borne viruses such as Dengue (DENV), Yellow Fever (YFV), Chikungunya (CHIKV) and Zika (ZIKV) viruses is alarming and treatment of human infection by these arboviruses faces several challenges. The discovery of broad-spectrum antiviral molecules, able to inactivate diferent groups of viruses,...

The global situation of diseases transmitted by arthropod-borne viruses such as Dengue (DENV), Yellow Fever (YFV), Chikungunya (CHIKV) and Zika (ZIKV) viruses is alarming and treatment of human infection by these arboviruses faces several challenges. The discovery of broad-spectrum antiviral molecules, able to inactivate different groups of viruses...

Although congenital Zika virus (ZIKV) exposure has been associated with microcephaly and other neurodevelopmental disorders, long-term consequences of perinatal infection are largely unknown. We evaluated short- and long-term neuropathological and behavioral consequences of neonatal ZIKV infection in mice. ZIKV showed brain tropism, causing postnat...

The defatted fractions of the Faramea hyacinthina and F. truncata (Rubiaceae) leaf MeOH extracts showed in vitro non-cytotoxic and anti-dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV2) activity in human hepatocarcinoma cell lineage (HepG2). Submitting these fractions to the developed RP-SPE method allowed isolating the antiviral flavanone (2S)-isosakuranetin-7-O-β-...

The MeOH extracts from the species Faramea hyacinthina and F. truncata (Rubiaceae) have shown in vitro non-cytotoxity and anti-dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV2) activity in human hepatocarcinoma cell lineage (HepG2) [1]. The comparison of the HPLC-DAD profiles of these extracts with that of F. bahiensis showed the common presence of the bioactive fla...

A causal relationship between congenital Zika virus (ZIKV) exposure and microcephaly and other neurological disorders have been established, but long-term consequences of infection are still unknown. We evaluated acute and late neuropathological and behavioral consequences of ZIKV infection in a neonatal immunocompetent mouse model. ZIKV showed bra...

The emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has stimulated several research groups to study and collaborate to understand virus biology and pathogenesis. These efforts may assist with the development of antiviral drugs, vaccines and diagnostic tests, as well as to promote advancements in public health policies. Here, we aim to develop standard pro...

Dengue virus infection is a neglected disease prevalent in most tropical and subtropical areas. Currently there is no any antiviral drug indicated for the routine treatment of dengue patients. As part of our ongoing search for potential anti-dengue virus agents we have investigated the methanol extract of Faramea bahiensis (Rubiaceae) leaves. This...

Aims: To investigate the effect of Heme, Cobalt-protoporphyrin IX and Tin-protoporphyrin IX (CoPPIX and SnPPIX), that are macrocyclic structures composed by a tetra pyrrole ring with a central metallic ion, on Dengue Virus (DENV) and Yellow Fever Virus (YFV) infection. Methods and results: Treatment of HepG2 cells with heme, CoPPIX and SnPPIX af...