ISSN 2326-7283
African Journal of Internal Medicine ISSN: 2326-7283 Vol. 2 (8), pp. 098-106, September, 2014. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Post-streptococcal Glomerulonephritis: Immunopathological aspects and perspectives for in silico experiments
1Carlos Antônio Bastos, 2Emerson de Paula Santos, 3Alcione de Paiva Oliveira, 4Andréia Patrícia Gomes, 5Fábio Ribeiro Cerqueira, 6Luiz Alberto Santana, 7Ricardo Santos Ferreira, 8Rodrigo Siqueira-Batista
Department of Computer Science, Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Brazil, Department Medicine and Nursing, Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Brazil. Email: [email protected]
Accepted 13 December, 2013
Abstract
Acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN) is an acute inflammatory disease involving the kidney glomeruli that causes diffuse proliferative lesions, oropharyngeal or skin infections. Clinically, it is a typical example of nephritic syndrome, with the occurrence of hematuria, edema, and hypertension, which may evolve to acute renal failure. Besides the consultation of important textbooks in the field, this article was based on a literature review using DeCS (Health Sciences Descriptors) web tool, which included searches in the databases LILACS (Latin American Literature in Health Sciences), PubMed (U. S. National Library of Medicine), and SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online). This simulator was constructed with the main objective of investigating autoimmune diseases, and it has been consistent with results presented in the literature. For the investigation of APSGN, our work comprises the extension of AutoSimmune to include important environments such as the kidney tissue as well as agents representing S. pyogenes and also the complement system. There are still many unclear points relevant to medical treatment of APSGN. In this context, in silico research might open important new possibilities of how to observe and test the immune response to S. pyogenes and their multiple interactions and outcomes. This review presents the current comprehension on APSGN and provides an important basis for the development of the proposed computational approach for the disease scrutiny.
Key words: Autoimmune diseases, AutoSimmune, Glomerulonephritis, in silico, Streptococcus pyogenes.