A novel multitarget real-time PCR (RT-PCR) assay for the rapid identification of Bordetella pertussis, B. parapertussis, and B. holmesii was developed using multicopy insertion sequences (ISs) in combination with the pertussis toxin subunit S1 (ptxS1) singleplex assay. The RT-PCR targets for the multiplex assay include IS481, commonly found in B. pertussis and B. holmesii; IS1001 of B. parapertussis; and the IS1001-like sequence of B. holmesii. Overall, 402 Bordetella species and 66 non-Bordetella species isolates were tested in the multitarget assay. Cross-reactivity was found only with 5 B. bronchiseptica isolates, which were positive with IS1001 of B. parapertussis. The lower limit of detection (LLOD) of the multiplex assay was similar to the LLOD of each target in an individual assay format, which was approximately 1 genomic equivalent per reaction for all targets. A total of 197 human clinical specimens obtained during cough-illness outbreak investigations were used to evaluate the multitarget RT-PCR assay. The multiplex assay results from 87 clinical specimens were compared to the individual RT-PCR assay and culture results. The multitarget assay is useful as a diagnostic tool to confirm B. pertussis infections and to rapidly identify other Bordetella species. In conclusion, the use of this multitarget RT-PCR approach increases specificity, while it decreases the amount of time, reagents, and specimen necessary for RT-PCRs used for accurate diagnosis of pertussis-like illness.

bArtemisinin derivatives are used in combination with other antimalarial drugs for treatment of multidrug-resistant malaria worldwide. Clinical resistance to artemisinin recently emerged in southeast Asia, yet in vitro phenotypes for discerning mechanism(s) of resistance remain elusive. Here, we describe novel phenotypic resistance traits expressed by artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum. The resistant parasites exhibit altered patterns of development that result in reduced exposure to drug at the most susceptible stage of development in erythrocytes (trophozoites) and increased exposure in the most resistant stage (rings). In addition, a novel in vitro delayed clearance assay (DCA) that assesses drug effects on asexual stages was found to correlate with parasite clearance half-life in vivo as well as with mutations in the Kelch domain gene associated with resistance (Pf3D7_1343700). Importantly, all of the resistance phenotypes were stable in cloned parasites for more than 2 years without drug pressure. The results demonstrate artemisinin-resistant P. falciparum has evolved a novel mechanism of phenotypic resistance to artemisinin drugs linked to abnormal cell cycle regulation. These results offer insights into a novel mechanism of drug resistance in P. falciparum and new tools for monitoring the spread of artemisinin resistance.A rtemisinin combination therapy (ACT) is the recommended treatment for multidrug-resistant malaria by the World Health Organization. These combinations rely on the fast-acting properties of the artemisinin derivative to rapidly clear parasites with the longer-acting partner drug clearing residual parasites, reducing the frequent observation of recrudescent infections when artemisinin drugs are used alone. Unfortunately, resistance to artemisinin derivatives has emerged in southeast Asia and now threatens the utility of the most important treatment options for Plasmodium falciparum malaria that is resistant to most antimalarial drugs. Clinical resistance to artemisinin is expressed as a reduced rate of parasite clearance from peripheral blood, resulting in a parasite clearance half-life of Ͼ5 h (1). Resistance to artemisinin is a heritable trait, linked to mutations in the Kelch propeller domains of Pf3D7_1343700, and it appears to be spreading in southeast Asia (1-3). Clearly, a public health disaster is looming if artemisinin resistance spreads globally, like the selective sweeps previously observed for chloroquine and pyrimethamine resistance (4-6).Despite the well-characterized phenotype of clinical resistance to artemisinin, resistance phenotypes in classical in vitro drug susceptibility assays, used successfully for other antimalarial drugs, have not been useful for detecting artemisinin resistance (7). Two modified in vitro assays have been used to assess resistance with some success (8, 9), with both assessing reduced susceptibility in the ring stage of development in erythrocytes; however, stable in vitro phenotypes in culture-adapted parasites remain elusive. Given the ...

Emergence of artemisinin resistance in Cambodia highlights the importance of characterizing resistance to this class of drugs. Previously, intermediate levels of resistance in Plasmodium falciparum were generated in vitro for artelinic acid (AL) and artemisinin (QHS). Here we expanded on earlier selection efforts to produce levels of clinically relevant concentrations, and the resulting lines were characterized genotypically and phenotypically. Recrudescence assays determined the ability of resistant and parent lines to recover following exposure to clinically relevant levels of drugs. Interestingly, the parent clone (D6) tolerated up to 1,500 ng/ml QHS, but the resistant parasite, D6.QHS340؋3, recovered following exposure to 2,400 ng/ml QHS. Resistant D6, W2, and TM91c235 parasites all exhibited elevated 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC 50 s) to multiple artemisinin drugs, with >3-fold resistance to QHS and AL; however, the degree of resistance obtained with standard methods was remarkably less than expected for parasite lines that recovered from 2,400-ng/ml drug pressure. A novel assay format with radiolabeled hypoxanthine demonstrated a greater degree of resistance in vitro than the standard SYBR green method. Analysis of merozoite number in resistant parasites found D6 and TM91c235 resistant progeny had significantly fewer merozoites than parent strains, whereas W2 resistant progeny had significantly more. Amplification of pfmdr1 increased proportionately to the increased drug levels tolerated by W2 and TM91c235, but not in resistant D6. In summary, we define the artemisinin resistance phenotype as a decrease in susceptibility to artemisinins along with the ability to recover from drug-induced dormancy following supraclinical concentrations of the drug.

Artemisinin-resistant P. falciparum have a fitness advantage to survive and predominate in the population even in the face of infrequent exposure to artemisinin drugs.

Hott et al.: Novel phenotypic resistance to artemisinin results in reduced exposure to drug at the most sensitive stage of intraerythrocytic development in Plasmodium falciparum.