Species diversity of Leishmania (Viannia) parasites circulating in an endemic area for cutaneous leishmaniasis located in the Atlantic rainforest region of northeastern Brazil

Abstract

Summaryobjectives To identify the aetiological agents of cutaneous leishmaniasis and to investigate the genetic polymorphism of Leishmania (Viannia) parasites circulating in an area with endemic cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in the Atlantic rainforest region of northeastern Brazil.methods Leishmania spp. isolates came from three sources: (i) patients diagnosed clinically and parasitologically with CL based on primary lesions, secondary lesions, clinical recidiva, mucocutaneous leishmaniasis and scars; (ii) sentinel hamsters, sylvatic or synanthropic small rodents; and (iii) the sand fly species Lutzomyia whitmani. Isolates were characterised using monoclonal antibodies, multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism of the internal transcribed spacer region rDNA locus.results Seventy-seven isolates were obtained and characterised. All isolates were identified as Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis serodeme 1 based on reactivity to monoclonal antibodies. MLEE identified 10 zymodemes circulating in the study region. Most isolates were classified as zymodemes closely related to L. (V.) braziliensis, but five isolates were classified as Leishmania (Viannia) shawi. All but three of the identified zymodemes have so far been observed only in the study region. Enzootic transmission and multiclonal infection were observed.conclusions Our results confirm that transmission cycle complexity and the co-existence of two or more species in the same area can affect the level of genetic polymorphism in a natural Leishmania population. Although it is not possible to make inferences as to the modes of genetic exchange, one can speculate that some of the zymodemes specific to the region are hybrids of L. (V.) braziliensis and L. (V.) shawi.keywords Leishmania, leishmaniasis, MLEE, molecular typing, L. (V.) braziliensis, L. (V.) shawi

Cutaneous leishmaniasis in northeastern Brazil: a critical appraisal of studies conducted in State of Pernambuco

“…Five L. (V.) braziliensis isolates from N. lasiurus and one from R. rattus were identified and characterized, and different zymodemes were identified 7 . It is noteworthy that the zymodeme IOC-Z74 was isolated from human patient samples, sentinel hamsters, vectors and both wild and synanthropic rodents, suggesting that this is the predominant zymodeme in the region 7,10 . Considering the difficulties related to the cultivation, isolation and maintenance of L. (V.) braziliensis parasites, these results represented an important achievement 26 .…”

“…These strains were placed into serodeme 1 with monoclonal antibodies. Through MLEE, they were all identified as L. (V.) braziliensis, although some of them showed different electrophoretic mobility profiles (electromorphs) for the PGM, IDH-NADP and malic enzyme (ME) and were grouped into four new zymodemes: IOC-Z72, IOC-Z73, IOC-Z74, and IOC-Z75 10 .…”

“…Hopefully, it will also be helpful for public health authorities to improve current control strategies against ACL at the state and country levels. 1,4,[9][10][11] . In a study conducted in Amaraji and Cortes (two municipalities from the southern Atlantic Forest region) (Figure 1) in 1991, two strains isolated from humans and characterized with multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) exhibited an enzymatic profile similar to L. (V.) braziliensis stricto sensu, except for the enzymes isocitrate dehydrogenase-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (IDH-NADP) and phosphoglucomutase (PMG), which were different from the reference strain MHOM/BR/75/M2903.…”

Endemic Tegumentary Leishmaniasis in Brazil: Correlation between Level of Endemicity and Number of Cases of Mucosal Disease

“…( V. ) braziliensis in approximately 55% of the TL cases in the Amazon region and in approximately 95% of TL cases outside the Amazon region. 14,16,17 Species causing TL include L . ( V. ) guyanensis , which is predominant north of the Amazon River, and in Guyana, Peru, Ecuador, and Venezuela, has a well-established enzootic cycle, causes localized and disseminated predominately cutaneous lesions; L. ( Leishmania ) amazonensis , which is found less frequently in all regions, is associated with sylvan enzootic foci, and is responsible for localized clinical manifestations and infrequent anergic diffuse cutaneous forms of TL; and…”

“…Different studies using polymorphic markers, in an attempt to define genetic profiles, and biochemical and molecular characteristics of parasite populations have failed to establish a correlation between these profiles and clinical expression of MCL. [10][11][12][13][14][15] Leishmania ( Viannia ) braziliensis , one of seven dermotropic Leishmania species found in Brazil, is responsible for localized, multiple, or disseminated cutaneous lesions and for the secondary effects in the mucosa. This species is broadly distributed in South and Central America and is predominant outside the Amazon region of Brazil, including rural and peri-urban areas.…”