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. 2014 Jun 11:7:267.
doi: 10.1186/1756-3305-7-267.

Trypanosoma cruzi strain TcI is associated with chronic Chagas disease in the Brazilian Amazon

Rosa Amélia Gonçalves Santana, Laylah Kelre Costa Magalhães, Laise Kelman Costa Magalhães, Suzane Ribeiro Prestes, Marcel Gonçalves Maciel, George Allan Villarouco da Silva, Wuelton Marcelo Monteiro, Felipe Rocha de Brito, Leila Inês de Aguiar Raposo Câmara Coelho, João Marcos Barbosa-Ferreira, Jorge Augusto Oliveira Guerra, Henrique Silveira  1 , Maria das Graças Vale Barbosa
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Trypanosoma cruzi strain TcI is associated with chronic Chagas disease in the Brazilian Amazon

Rosa Amélia Gonçalves Santana et al. Parasit Vectors. .

Abstract

Background: Chagas disease in the Amazon region is considered an emerging anthropozoonosis with a predominance of the discrete typing units (DTUs) TcI and TcIV. These DTUs are responsible for cases of acute disease associated with oral transmission. Chronic disease cases have been detected through serological surveys. However, the mode of transmission could not be determined, or any association of chronic disease with a specific T. cruzi DTU's. The aim of this study was to characterize Trypanosoma cruzi in patients with chronic Chagas disease in the State of Amazonas, Brazil.

Methods: Blood culture and xenodiagnosis were performed in 36 patients with positive serology for Chagas disease who participated in a serological survey performed in urban and rural areas of Manaus, Amazonas. DNA samples were extracted from the feces of triatomines used for xenodiagnosis, and the nontranscribed spacer of the mini-exon gene and the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit II (COII) were amplified by PCR and sequenced.

Results: Blood culture and xenodiagnosis were negative in 100% of samples; however, molecular techniques revealed that in 13 out of 36 (36%) fecal samples from xenodiagnosis, T. cruzi was characterized as the DTU TcI, and different haplotypes were identified within the same DTU.

Conclusion: The DTU TcI, which is mainly associated with acute cases of Chagas disease in the Amazon region, is also responsible for chronic infection in patients from a region in the State of Amazonas.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of Manaus highlighting the study areas (A: urban area, B: rural area) and the location of participants (red dots).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Phylogenetic tree showing the distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi isolates in rural and periurban areas of Manaus, State of Amazonas, Brazil, based on the sequencing of the gene encoding cytochrome oxidase subunit II. The following standard strains obtained from GenBank (DTU (strain name – access number)) were used: TcI (Silvio ×10 cl4 – EU302222.1), TcII (Esmeraldo cl3 – AF359035.1), TcIII (M6241 cl6 – AF359032.1), TcIV (CANIII cl1 – AF359030.1), TcV (Mn cl2 – DQ343718.1), and TcVI (CL Brener – DQ343645.1). TcCOII1, haplotype described in (6).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Representation of Trypanosoma cruzi haplotypes identified as DTU TcI identified by sequencing of the cytochrome oxidase subunit II gene. Standard strains obtained from GenBank [DTU (strain name – access number)]: TcI (Silvio ×10 cl4- EU302222.1), TcII (Esmeraldo cl3 -AF359035.1), TcIII (M6241 cl6- AF359032.1), TcIV (CANIII cl1 -AF359030.1), TcV (Mn cl2- DQ343718.1), and TcVI (CL Brener- DQ343645.1). TcCOII1, haplotype described in (6).
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