Fernandes Alexandre, Iñiguez Alena M, Lima Valdirene S, Souza Sheila M F Mendonça de, Ferreira Luiz Fernando, Vicente Ana Carolina P, Jansen Ana M
Laboratório de Genética Molecular de Microorganismos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2008 Aug;103(5):514-6. doi: 10.1590/s0074-02762008000500021.
We evaluated the presence and distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi DNA in a mummy presenting with megacolon that was dated as approximately 560 +/- 40 years old. The mummy was from the Peruaçu Valley in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. All samples were positive for T. cruzi minicircle DNA, demonstrating the presence and broad dissemination of the parasite in this body. From one sample, a mini-exon gene fragment was recovered and characterized by sequencing and was found to belong to the T. cruzi I genotype. This finding suggests that T. cruzi I infected humans during the pre-Columbian times and that, in addition to T. cruzi infection, Chagas disease in Brazil most likely preceded European colonization.
我们评估了患有巨结肠症的一具木乃伊中克氏锥虫DNA的存在情况及分布，该木乃伊年代约为560±40年。这具木乃伊来自巴西米纳斯吉拉斯州的佩鲁阿苏山谷。所有样本的克氏锥虫小环DNA均呈阳性，表明该寄生虫在这具尸体中存在且广泛传播。从一个样本中，回收了一个小外显子基因片段，并通过测序进行了表征，发现其属于克氏锥虫I基因型。这一发现表明，克氏锥虫I在哥伦布发现美洲大陆之前就已感染人类，而且除了克氏锥虫感染外，巴西的恰加斯病很可能早于欧洲殖民时期。
