Immunity against COVID-19 is crucial. Little is known about the mechanisms involved in stimulating antibody production against SARS-CoV-2 by the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and the exhaustion of T-cells. Objective: To evaluate the IgG (anti-spike) response, TNF-α, T-cell subsets, and their exhaustion. Methods: Serum samples and peripheral mononuclear cells of subjects with infection (G1, n=07), asymptomatic (G2, n=08 y G3, n=10) vaccinated with three doses of the BNT162b2 (G1 and G2) or the ChAdOx1-S (G3) vaccines. ELISA determined the level of IgG and TNF-α, and flow cytometry determined the T-cell subsets and exhaustion. Results: No change was observed in the levels of IgG before and after vaccination. G1 significantly increased TNF-α levels after receiving the third vaccine dose. Total lymphocytes significantly decreased in G2, but CD3+ did not change. G3 had a reduction i...

Objetivo: Evaluar la inmunogenicidad humoral inducida por esquemas de vacunación homólogos y heterólogos mediante la comparación de dos métodos de detección de anticuerpos IgG contra el virus SARS-CoV-2. Materiales y métodos: Se determinó la concentración de anticuerpos IgG específicos contra el dominio de unión al receptor (RBD) de la proteína S del virus SARS-CoV-2. Para ello se colectaron muestras de suero provenientes de 60 individuos que recibieron diferentes esquemas de vacunación contra este virus, establecidos por el sistema de salud peruano. En el estudio se incluyeron 20 sueros colectados antes de la pandemia, almacenados en una seroteca. Se utilizó un ensayo inmunoenzimático tipo ELISA, considerado como prueba estándar para este tipo de determinación. Adicionalmente, se incluyó una prueba rápida de OJABIO (PRO) para la evaluación cualitativa de la respuesta...

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by a chronic inflammatory process within the joints. Recently, the importance of dendritic cells (DC) has been emphasized in this condition due to their remarkable ability for presenting autoantigens and for stimulating auto-reactive T-cells. The ability of Uncaria tomentosa (Cat’s claw), a native Peruvian plant with immune-modulating properties on the circulating dendritic cell population and on their maturation and co-stimulation capacities was assessed.Objectives: To determine subsets of myeloid and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (mDC and pDC, respectively) in patients with RA with the use of flow cytometry. To evaluate variations in the expression of HLA-DR and CD86 molecules in both subsets of DC in response to different concentrations of a hydro-alcoholic extract of Cat´s claw with 5% of pentac...