부산대학교 도서관

Background/Objectives: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by Leishmania donovani is a major health problem in Ethiopia. Parasites in disparate regions are transmitted by different vectors, and cluster in distinctive genotypes. Recently isolated strains from VL and HIV-VL co-infected patients in north and south Ethiopia were characterized as part of a longitudinal study on VL transmission. Methodology/Principal Findings: Sixty-three L. donovani strains were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting three regions: internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1), cysteine protease B (cpb), and HASPB (k26). ITS1- and cpb - PCR identified these strains as L. donovani. Interestingly, the k26 - PCR amplicon size varied depending on the patient's geographic origin. Most strains from northwestern Ethiopia (36/40) produced a 290 bp product with a minority (4/40) giving a 410 bp amplicon. All of the latter strains were isolated from patients with HIV-VL co-infections, while the former group contained both VL and HIV-VL co-infected patients. Almost all the strains (20/23) from southwestern Ethiopia produced a 450 bp amplicon with smaller products (290 or 360 bp) only observed for three strains. Sudanese strains produced amplicons identical (290 bp) to those found in northwestern Ethiopia; while Kenyan strains gave larger PCR products (500 and 650 bp). High-resolution melt (HRM) analysis distinguished the different PCR products. Sequence analysis showed that the k26 repeat region in L. donovani is comprised of polymorphic 13 and 14 amino acid motifs. The 13 amino acid peptide motifs, prevalent in L. donovani, are rare in L. infantum. The number and order of the repeats in L. donovani varies between geographic regions. Conclusions/Significance: HASPB repeat region (k26) shows considerable polymorphism among L. donovani strains from different regions in East Africa. This should be taken into account when designing diagnostic assays and vaccines based on this antigen. Author Summary: HASPB belongs to a hydrophilic repeat-containing surface antigen family found in Leishmania. The L. infantum/L. donovani protein has been used for diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis, and is a putative vaccine candidate for this disease. Visceral leishmaniasis is a fatal disease, and approximately one third of the cases are found in East Africa. The k26 – PCR, which amplifies the repeat region of HASPB, produced different amplicon sizes for recent Ethiopian L. donovani depending on the strain's geographic origin. Further analysis showed that the number and order of the peptide motifs, either 13 or 14 amino acids long, comprising the L. donovani repeats varies between endemic regions of East Africa. Polymorphism in the amino acid sequence of the peptides was also observed. In addition, the 13 amino acid peptide motifs prevalent in L. donovani are rare in L. infantum. The observed polymorphisms in the HASPB repeat region suggests that custom antigens may be needed for diagnosis or vaccination in distinct endemic foci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]