Characterization of Leishmania species from Central-West Region of Brazil

Abstract

Leishmaniasis represents a complex of diseases with a broad clinical spectrum and epidemiological diversity. Involving a variety of agents, reservoirs, and vectors, cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) presents different transmission patterns, which makes its control especially difficult. Epidemiological characterization with identification of existing Leishmania species in a particular region is essential for understanding this parasitosis epidemiology. Because similar results may be observed in places with overlapping transmission of visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis, contributing to knowledge about the epidemiological cycle of cutaneous leishmaniasis is of global interest. This study proposes to identify the different species of Leishmania present in human CL cases in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Slides of imprint tissue were selected from patients diagnosed with CL from 2009 to 2013 at the Laboratório de Parasitologia Clínica, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul. The slides were scraped and extracted genetic material was amplified with PCR addressing the Leishmania spp. kDNA region. The reaction product was subjected to RFLP for the specific identification of Leishmania. Forty-three samples (82.7%) amplified with PCR were considered positive. Of these, it was possible to determine the species in 40 samples (76.9%) through analysis of electrophoresis profiles. Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis, and Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum were identified as the etiologic agents of CL in Mato Grosso do Sul. The results of this study permit a more detailed understanding of CL epidemiology and the geographical distribution of its agents.

Multiparametric analysis of host and parasite elements in new world tegumentary leishmaniasis

“…This work reinforces that the parasite strains may be determinant to the clinical outcome of TL ( Handler et al., 2015 ). The circulation of L. amazonensis and L. braziliensis has already been described in the studied areas (de Pereira et al., 2013; Souza Castro et al., 2018 ), and it is important to emphasize that, in the case of L. braziliensis , this was the only Leishmania species found in the area of Corte de Pedra, similar to the observations of Silva et al. ( Silva et al., 2017 ).…”

Genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships between Leishmania infantum from dogs, humans and wildlife in south‐east Spain

“…A wide range of DNA targets have been used to study genetic variability and phylogeny within Leishmania genus (Akhoundi et al, 2017). Among them, the mini exon/spliced leader gene (Azmi, Nasereddin, Ereqat, Schönian, & Abdeen, 2010;Marfurt, Niederwieser, Makia, Beck, & Felger, 2003), the hsp70 gene (Montalvo, Fraga, Maes, Dujardin, & Van Der Auwera, 2012), the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS1-2) regions (de Almeida et al, 2011;Del Río et al, 2014;Schönian et al, 2003) and the kinetoplast, mitochondrial DNA (kDNA) (Millán et al, 2011;Souza Castro et al, 2018) have enough sequence polymorphisms to allow sensitive detection of genetic variability within Leishmania species (Akhoundi et al, 2017). Their high copy number and the presence of variable and conserved DNA regions make them ideal for pathogen detection (high sensitivity) and typing (variability studies) (de Almeida et al, 2011;Schönian et al, 2003;Silva, Richini-Pereira, Kikuti, Marson, & Langoni, 2017).…”

First detection of Leishmania of the subgenus viannia in Alipiopsitta xanthops, endemic bird of South America

“…The presence of Leishmania spp. in Campo Grande has been confirmed in humans (Castro et al 2018), in wild animals (Shapiro et al 2013;Castro et al 2020) and in vectors (Silva et al 2008), which suggests that the parasite transmission cycles are present and active in the capital of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.…”