Rapid Dissemination of Newly Introduced Plasmodium vivax Genotypes in South Korea

Abstract

Abstract. Reemerged Plasmodium vivax malaria in South Korea has not yet been eradicated despite continuous governmental efforts. It has rather become an endemic disease. Our study aimed to determine the genetic diversity in P. vivax merozoite surface protein-1 (PvMSP-1) and circumsporozoite protein (PvCSP) genes over an extended period after its reemergence to its current status. Sequence analysis of PvMSP-1 gene sequences from the 632 P. vivax isolates during 1996-2007 indicates that most isolates recently obtained were different from isolates obtained in the initial reemergence period. There was initially only one subtype (recombinant) present but its subtypes have varied since 2000; six MSP-1 subtypes were recently found. A similar variation was observed by CSP gene analysis; a new CSP subtype was found. Understanding genetic variation patterns of the parasite may help to analyze trends and assess extent of endemic malaria in South Korea.

Genetic diversity of the malaria vaccine candidate merozoite surface protein 1 gene of Plasmodium vivax field isolates in Republic of Korea

“…Until recently, the number of type sequences in VB6 (similar to the ICB5-6 region) seemed to be restricted to four. These four type sequences (type 1 and variant, and types 2 and 4) of Pvmsp-1 VB6 from the Korean isolates from this study were similar to the previously reported S-a, S-b, B-1, and B-2, respectively (Choi et al 2010). Although this VB sequence was found to be a major recombinant type before 2000, Sal-1-and Belem-like types appeared in the Korean isolates only after 2000 (Choi et al 2010).…”

“…These four type sequences (type 1 and variant, and types 2 and 4) of Pvmsp-1 VB6 from the Korean isolates from this study were similar to the previously reported S-a, S-b, B-1, and B-2, respectively (Choi et al 2010). Although this VB sequence was found to be a major recombinant type before 2000, Sal-1-and Belem-like types appeared in the Korean isolates only after 2000 (Choi et al 2010). In this study, a Sal-1-like type in VB2b of Pvmsp-1 was a major allelic type before 2000 and a Belem-like type of VB2a was found in the 2007 to 2009 samples.…”

“…1 and referred to in Putaporntip et al (2002) b New type sequence identified in variable block 2b vaccine candidate genes Pvmsp-1 (both ICB4-5 and ICB5-6), circumsporozoite protein (Pvcsp), Duffy binding protein (Pvdbp), and apical membrane protein 1 (Pvama-1), all of which were identified in Korean isolates obtained before 2000 (Lim et al 2000;Han et al 2002;Kim et al 2009;Lim et al 2001). In addition, subtypes or recombinant types have been found in recent sequence analyses of Pvmsp-1 ICB5-6, Pvmsp-3α, and Pvcsp in samples collected from 1996 to 2007 (Choi et al 2010;Nam et al 2010). In a previous report (Putaporntip et al 2002), two Korean allelic types (SK1 and SK3) over the full length of Pvmsp-1 were identified from four Korean isolates (SK1 to SK4).…”

Limited Polymorphism of the Plasmodium vivax Merozoite Surface Protein 1 Gene in Isolates from Turkey

“…vivax in different populations. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] However, investigations on polymorphism of the whole pvmsp1 have until now been limited. 13 In this study, we report polymorphism of pvmsp1 from isolates in Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey, where malaria has long been one of the most common infectious diseases and P. vivax has continuously been identified as the only Plasmodium species.…”

Dynamic changes of Plasmodium vivax population structure in South Korea

“…To understand the nature of the reemerging P. vivax in South Korea, several studies have attempted to analyze the genetic characteristics of P. vivax Korean isolates (Lim et al, 2000;Choi et al, 2010;Kang et al, 2012;Ju et al, 2013;Kang et al, 2014;Kang et al, 2015). However, these studies focused on simple polymorphism analysis of a single independent gene over a short time period or used limited numbers of isolates for the analyses.…”