Solving the severity of dengue fever is the task of Oaxaca scientists

Elizabeth Cruz Altamirano, a graduate student in experimental biomedicine at the School of Medicine at the Autonomous University of Benito Juárez (UABJO) in Oaxaca, is studying proteins present in the platelets of dengue patients in an attempt to predict the severity of the infection and avoid death in severe cases.

“Protein identification of biomarkers of dengue infection” is the name of the project of the science teacher and doctoral student, who pointed out that the progress of the project is 50%. The goal is to complete it in 2024, while completing the PhD.

However, he explained that each stage is complex in terms of obtaining samples and developing resources. “Currently, what we are doing is extracting platelets from the patient’s body or outside the body (using artificial platelets) to recover the proteins and analyze which of them can be used in the project.”

The second phase will include studying proteins found in platelets that are also found in humans. This was to test whether they could help achieve the goal of predicting which patients infected with dengue will develop severe dengue and which will not. “In this way, deaths or complications may be prevented, especially in critically ill or vulnerable patients such as children or the elderly.”

The project is directed by Juan José Alpuche Osorno and Sergio Roberto Aguilar Juárez, PhD, and in addition links the hemostasis laboratory (from the Experimental Biomedicine graduate program) and the biochemistry laboratory (from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery).

The Puerto Escondido native said the project grew out of her experience in the lab and her observations of the occurrence of dengue cases in her area, which has a higher rate than other parts of the state, mostly in rainy season.

“Although due to climate change, it is undeniable that we have dengue cases all year round,” said the professional who developed the drug in a clinical laboratory.

“Every year it’s the same: you see an increase in dengue patient cases, and unfortunately there’s still nothing that can give us a vaccine or a clue to treat patients. This motivates me to keep learning and working towards the understanding of this problem and Contribute a grain of sand to the solution.”

For this project, centrifugation was used to separate the platelets, Cruz Altamirano said. In severe cases of dengue, the levels of these cells are usually very low. Although a low presence of cells does not necessarily mean it will cause a severe case.

There are currently two vectors that cause dengue infection: Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The science teacher confirmed the trend of increasing dengue cases in Oaxaca and the country, but because the symptoms are varied and similar to the common cold, Therefore it is not always possible to identify them.

“This is alarming because some of the factors include climate change,” she noted. That’s why, with no vaccine or treatment for the disease, experts are calling for a focus on prevention.