Genes that encodes NAGT, MIF1 and MIF2 are not virulence factors for kala-azar caused by Leishmania infantum

Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical

Bruno Guedes Alcoforado Aguiar¹  Daniela Lemos Coelho¹  Dorcas Lamounier Costa¹  Betânia Paiva Drumond¹  Luiz Felipe Leomil Coelho¹  Lívio Carvalho Figueiredo¹  Danielle Alves Zacarias¹  Jailthon Carlos Da Silva¹  Diego Peres Alonso¹  Paulo Eduardo Martins Ribolla¹  Edna Aoba Yassui Ishikawa¹  Samara Belchior Gaído¹  Carlos Henrique Nery Costa¹ 

关键词: Genetic diversity;    Kala-azar;    Visceral leishmaniasis;    Macrophage inhibition factor;    Tropical diseases;    Single nucleotide polymorphism;   

DOI  :  10.1590/0037-8682-0183-2014

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionKala-azar is a disease resulting from infection by Leishmania donovani and Leishmania infantum. Most patients with the disease exhibit prolonged fever, wasting, anemia and hepatosplenomegaly without complications. However, some patients develop severe disease with hemorrhagic manifestations, bacterial infections, jaundice, and edema dyspnea, among other symptoms, followed by death. Among the parasite molecules that might influence the disease severity are the macrophage migration inhibitory factor-like proteins (MIF1 and MIF2) and N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphotransferase (NAGT), which act in the first step of protein N-glycosylation. This study aimed to determine whether MIF1, MIF2 and NAGT are virulence factors for severe kala-azar.MethodsTo determine the parasite genotype in kala-azar patients from Northeastern Brazil, we sequenced the NAGT genes of L. infantum from 68 patients as well as the MIF1 and MIF2 genes from 76 different subjects with diverse clinical manifestations. After polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the fragments were sequenced, followed by polymorphism identification.ResultsThe nucleotide sequencing of the 144 amplicons revealed the absence of genetic variability of the NAGT, MIF1 and MIF2 genes between the isolates. The conservation of these genes suggests that the clinical variability of kala-azar does not depend upon these genes. Additionally, this conservation suggests that these genes may be critical for parasite survival.ConclusionsNAGT, MIF1 and MIF2 do not alter the severity of kala-azar. NAGT, MIF1 and MIF2 are highly conserved among different isolates of identical species and exhibit potential for use in phylogenetic inferences or molecular diagnosis.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
 All the contents of this journal, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License