Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jul;8(3):402-7.

Ferredoxin Gene Mutation in Iranian Trichomonas vaginalis Isolates

Soudabeh Heidari  1 , Mojgan Bandehpour  2 , Seyyed-Javad Seyyed-Tabaei  1 , Zarintaj Valadkhani  3 , Ali Haghighi  1 , Alireza Abadi  4 , Bahram Kazemi  2
Affiliations

Ferredoxin Gene Mutation in Iranian Trichomonas vaginalis Isolates

Soudabeh Heidari et al. Iran J Parasitol. 2013 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Trichomonas vaginalis causes trichomoniasis and metronidazole is its chosen drug for treatment. Ferredoxin has role in electron transport and carbohydrate metabolism and the conversion of an inactive form of metronidazole (CO) to its active form (CPR). Ferredoxin gene mutations reduce gene expression and increase its resistance to metronidazole. In this study, the frequency of ferredoxin gene mutations in clinical isolates of T.vaginalis in Tehran has been studied.

Methods: Forty six clinical T. vaginalis isolates of vaginal secretions and urine sediment were collected from Tehran Province since 2011 till 2012. DNA was extracted and ferredoxin gene was amplified by PCR technique. The ferredoxin gene PCR products were sequenced to determine gene mutations.

Results: In four isolates (8.69%) point mutation at nucleotide position -239 (the translation start codon) of the ferredoxin gene were detected in which adenosine were converted to thymine.

Conclusion: Mutation at nucleotide -239 ferredoxin gene reduces translational regulatory protein's binding affinity which concludes reduction of ferredoxin expression. For this reduction, decrease in activity and decrease in metronidazole drug delivery into the cells occur. Mutations in these four isolates may lead to resistance of them to metronidazole.

Keywords: Ferredoxin gene; Mutation; Trichomonas vaginalis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The 1.5% agarose gel electrophoresis. M; 100 bp DNA ladder marker, NC; negative control, PC; positive control, TV; Trichomonas vaginalis ferredoxin gene PCR product
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Comparison of the sequence of nucleotides before the translation start codon of the ferredoxin gene by BLAST sofware. TV is nucleotide sequence of wild type isolate and TV-MT is nucleotide sequence of mutant isolate. It shows change in nucleotide position -239, and box shows start of transcription of the ferredoxin gene. The underlined region (28-bp oligomers) is the translational regulatory protein connection zone (Ref 22)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wolner-Hanssen P, Krieger JN, Stevens CE, Kiviat NB, Koutsky L, Critchlow C, et al. Clinical manifestations of vaginal trichomoniasis. JAMA. 1989;261:571–6. - PubMed
    1. Minkoff H, Grunebaum AN, Schwarz RH, Feldman J, Cummings M, Crombleholme W, et al. Risk factors for prematurity and premature rupture of membranes: a prospective study of the vaginal flora in pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1984;150:965–72. - PubMed
    1. Markarian DS, Popova EA, Arshba AM, Sulukhiia RV, Cherkezila GK. Cases of Down's syndrome in children of young parents with choronic inflammatory genital diseases and secondary disorders of spermatogenesis. Akusb Ginekol (Mosk) 1990;5:38–41. Article in Russian. - PubMed
    1. Hoffman DS, Brown GD, Wirth FH, Gebert BS, Bailey CL, Anday EK. Urinary tract infection with Trichomonas vaginalis in a premature newborn infant and the development of chronic lung disease. J Perinatol. 2003;23:59. - PubMed
    1. Super DE, Bumpt RC, Hurt WG. Bacterial vaginosis and trichomoniasis vaginitis are risk factor for colitis after abdominal hysterectomy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1990;163(3):1016–23. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources