BackgroundLeishmania infantum, the etiological agent of visceral leishmaniasis, is a neglected zoonosis that requires validation and standardization of satisfactory diagnostic methodologies. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of cathepsin L-like protease as a target for making molecular diagnoses and as a phylogenetic marker enabling to understand the intraspecies variations and evolutionary history of L. infantum in Brazil.MethodsWe used 44 isolates of L. infantum. The cathepsin L-like gene fragments were amplified, sequenced, manually aligned and analyzed using inference methods. The sequences generated were used to search and design oligonucleotide primers to be used in reactions specific to the target parasite.ResultsThe cathepsin L-like gene did not show any intraspecies variability among the isolates analyzed. The pair of primers proposed amplified the target deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of L. infantum isolates and were effective for DNA amplification at concentrations of as low as 10− 11 ng/μl. The proposed marker did not present cross-reactions with other hemoparasites. When used for making the diagnosis in a panel of clinical samples from dogs, a positivity rate of 49.03% (102/208) was obtained, versus 14.42% (30/208) for a ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) marker. In samples from sandflies, the rate was 6.25% and from humans, 14.28%.ConclusionsThe results described in this work allow us to infer that CatLeish-PCR is a sensitive and specific marker for use in diagnostic trials of L. infantum and in clinical and epidemiological surveys.
SAMPAIO, B. M. Intraspecific variation and biogeography of Brazilian isolates of Leishmania infantum chagasi based on nuclear and mitochondrial genes. [Variação intraespecífica e biogeografia de isolados brasileiros de Leishmania infantum chagasi baseado em genes nucleares e mitocondriais]. 2016. 56 f.
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