Genotyping and phylogenic study of Acanthamoeba isolates from human keratitis and swimming pool water samples in Iran

Abstract

Objective Acanthamoeba keratitis cause severe corneal infection and lead to poor vision and blindness. This disease is caused by a unicellular amphizoic protozoon called Acanthamoeba spp. that present in different environments. This study aimed to represent the existence and genotyping of Acanthamoeba spp. in patients with keratitis and swimming pool water (SPW) in Tehran Province, Central Iran. Methods In this descriptive study, 56 clinical samples were collected from patients with keratitis and 30 water samples were collected from different swimming pools in Tehran Province. All samples were examined based on the morphological and molecular techniques. The genotypes were determined by sequencing the partial of 18S rRNA gene. Results Of 56 clinical (corneal) and 30 environmental (SPW) samples, 30.3% and 40.0% were positive for Acanthamoeba spp., respectively. According to sequencing analysis, 94.1% of amoebic keratitis isolates were belonged to T4 genotype and only one (5.8%) isolate was belonged to T11 genotype. All genotypes were detected from SPW samples were identified as T4 genotype. Conclusion According to our results, use of contact lens and swimming in pool poses the major risk factor for amoebic keratitis in the studied area (Tehran). Moreover, T4 genotype was the predominant genotype of human keratitis and swimming pool samples there. Consequently, essential and practical measures are urgently needed to prevent subjects against this ocular seriously disease.

Genotyping and phylogenetic analysis of free-living amoeba (Acanthamoeba and Naegleria) in treated and untreated water in the northeastern provinces of Iran

“…Therefore, our results, in line with the results of other Iranian researchers who have studied in other cities of Iran (Rezaeian et al 2008;Niyyati et al 2015;Armand et al 2016a;Esboei et al 2020;Ahmadi et al 2021) show the abundance of FLA in various water sources in Iran.…”

“…Water used for recreational purposes (i.e. river, sea, dam) should also be closely monitored because untreated water may contain large amounts of FLA to transmit infections to humans (Ma et al 1990;Szénási et al 1998;Niyyati et al 2015;Esboei et al 2020).…”

“…Acanthamoeba keratitis and PAM have been documented in Iran (Esboei et al 2020;Ahmadi et al 2021). Although the number of reported cases is low, FLA must not be overlooked as a possible cause of disease.…”

Genotype distribution of Acanthamoeba in keratitis: a systematic review

“…We can also note that the genotype distribution among the four continents is very similar. In addition to T4, our Booton et al 2002;Zhang et al 2004;Zhao et al 2010;Li et al 2019 India T4 (56), T11 (1), T12 (3), T10 (2) Sharma et al 2004;Behera et al 2016;Prithiviraj et al 2020 Iran T4 (80), T3 (5), T11 (5), T2 (3), T9 (1) Niyyati et al 2009;Niyyati et al 2010;Ghamilouie et al 2014a;Ghamilouie et al 2014b;Maghsood et al 2015;Hajialilo et al 2016;Bahreini et al 2019;Chegeni et al 2019;Esboei et -Morales et al 2007;Lorenzo-Morales el al. 2011;Arnalich-Montiel et al 2013a;Arnalich-Montiel et al 2013b;Arnalich-Montiel et al, 2014;Heredero-Bermejo et al 2015;Rocha-Cabrera et al 2015;Martín-Pérez et al 2017 Sweden T4 (10) Grün et al 2014 study shows that the second most prevalent genotype was T3.…”

Prevalence of free-living amoebae in swimming pools and recreational waters, a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…and Naegleria spp. El-Badry et al 2020 Egypt Swimming pool (7) 28 0 Morphology, PCR Esboei et al ( 2020 ) Iran Swimming pools 30 12 Morphology, PCR Acanthamoeba T4 Latifi et al ( 2020 ) Iran Hot spring and beach 81 54 Morphology, PCR Acanthamoeba (T3, T4 e T5), V. vermiformis , and Naegleria spp. Paknejad et al ( 2020 ) Iran Swimming pool and bathtub 166 31 Morphology, PCR Acanthamoeba T3, Acanthamoeba T4, Acanthamoeba T11, Acanthamoeba sp., Protacanthamoeba bohemica , and N. lovaniensis Sarmadian et al ( 2020 ) Iran Swimming pool (6) 6 1 Morphology Acanthamoeba spp.…”