Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille (CIIL), Institut Pasteur of Lille, Inserm U1019, CNRS UMR 8204, University Lille Nord de France, Biology and Diversity of Emerging Eukaryotic Pathogens (BDEEP), 1 rue du Professeur Calmette, BP 245, 59019 Lille Cedex, France.
Parasitol Res. 2011 Sep;109(3):613-9. doi: 10.1007/s00436-011-2294-7. Epub 2011 Feb 22.
Blastocystis sp. is the most common eukaryotic parasite in the intestinal tract of humans. Due to its potential impact in public health, we determined the Blastocystis sp. subtypes (STs) and their relative frequency in symptomatic patients living in or in the vicinity of two Italian cities (Rome and Sassari). A total of 34 Blastocystis sp. isolates corresponding to 26 single and 4 mixed infections were subtyped using partial small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. From this molecular approach, the ST distribution in the present Italian population was as follows: ST3 (47.1%), ST2 (20.6%), ST4 (17.7%), ST1 (8.8%), and ST7, and ST8 (2.9%). As in almost all countries worldwide, ST3 was the most common ST reinforcing the hypothesis of its human origin. Together with a previous preliminary report, a total of seven STs (with the addition of ST5) have been found in Italian symptomatic patients. The wide range of STs identified in the Italian population suggest that Blastocystis sp. infection is not associated with specific STs even if some STs (ST1-ST4) are predominant as reported in all other countries. Since most of the STs identified in Italian patients are zoonotic, our data raise crucial questions concerning the identification of animal reservoirs for Blastocystis sp. and the potential risks of transmission to humans.
芽囊原虫是人类肠道中最常见的真核寄生虫。由于其对公共卫生的潜在影响，我们确定了生活在意大利两个城市（罗马和萨萨里）及其附近的有症状患者中的芽囊原虫亚型（ST）及其相对频率。使用部分小亚基核糖体 RNA 基因测序对 34 个芽囊原虫分离株进行了亚分型，这些分离株对应 26 个单感染和 4 个混合感染。从这种分子方法来看，目前意大利人群中的 ST 分布如下：ST3（47.1%）、ST2（20.6%）、ST4（17.7%）、ST1（8.8%）和 ST7、ST8（2.9%）。与世界上几乎所有国家一样，ST3 是最常见的 ST，这强化了其人类起源的假设。加上之前的初步报告，在意大利有症状的患者中总共发现了 7 种 ST（加上 ST5）。在意大利人群中发现的广泛的 ST 表明，芽囊原虫感染与特定的 ST 无关，尽管一些 ST（ST1-ST4）像在所有其他国家一样占主导地位。由于在意大利患者中发现的大多数 ST 都是人畜共患的，因此我们的数据提出了关于芽囊原虫动物宿主识别和向人类传播潜在风险的关键问题。
