Identification of Trypanosoma cruzi Zymodemes by Kinetoplast DNA Probes

Abstract

Analysis of zymograms of extracts of Trypanosoma cruzi isolated from different hosts in Argentina allowed characterization of 12 zymodemes or "isozymic strains," only six of which were found in human patients. Two of these six zymodemes (Z1 and Z12) were widely distributed and found in more than 80% of human patients. These two "major natural clones" differed significantly in pathogenic activity. Because the groupings obtained by studying enzymes and kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) were similar, it is possible to identify the zymodeme by analyzing kDNA. A 290-bp fragment was amplified by PCR using primers for the sequences flanking the hypervariable regions of kDNA minicircles. Labeled probes for this fragment, prepared from Z1 and Z12 reference stocks, hybridized specifically with PCR-amplified kDNA from parasite stocks, allowing identification of zymodemes.

Trypanosoma cruzi isolates from Chile are heterogeneous and composed of mixed populations when characterized by schizodeme and Southern analyses

“…Interestingly the sp104 probe was detected as homologous to the Argentinean CA I isolate (this study), suggesting this T. cruzi genotype is ubiquitous on the eastern side of the Andes. It has also been found in a highly endemic area of Argentina (Macina et al 1987), and seems to be the most pathogenic in this country (Montamat et al 1996(Montamat et al , 1999. These isolates hybridized to the probe derived from genotype 19, which corresponds to at least 2 Chilean genotypes of T. cruzi determined by molecular karyotyping (Solari et al 1998 ;Venegas et al 1997).…”

Weekly electrocardiographic pattern in mice infected with two different Trypanosoma cruzi strains

“…This may be the results of either heterogeneity among T. cruzi isolates or host immune response [27]. The parasite infective strain is a very important factor to determine the evolution of the cardiopathy [28]. The electrocardiographic abnormalities, with or without clinical symptoms, are the most frequent findings in this disease [29].…”

Variation in Trypanosoma Cruzi Clonal Composition Detected in Blood Patients and Xenodiagnosis Triatomines: Implications in the Molecular Epidemiology of Chile

“…It is possible that the variability in the clinical picture of Chagas disease could be related in part to T. cruzi clones, harboring different pathogenicity. 13 T. cruzi kDNA contains two components: minicircles and maxicircles. The minicircles have two kinds of sequence elements: a conserved region repeated four times per molecule and four variable and divergent regions intercalated among the repeats.…”