Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, PO Box 19395-4719, Yeman Street, Chamran Expressway, Tehran, Iran.
Parasitol Res. 2012 Dec;111(6):2311-5. doi: 10.1007/s00436-012-3085-5. Epub 2012 Sep 5.
Blastocystis is an unusual enteric protozoan parasite of humans and many animals whose pathogenic potential is still controversial. To increase the understanding of the molecular epidemiology of this emerging parasite and due to its potential impact on public health, its subtypes (STs) in Iranian symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals were determined. A total of 100 Blastocystis isolates by microscopy and culture methods were obtained. DNA was extracted from the positive culture isolates, and the Blastocystis subtypes were identified using seven subtype-specific sequenced-tagged site (STS) primers. Four subtypes, ST3 as dominant (53 %), followed by ST1 (48 %), ST5 (33 %), and ST2 (7 %) were identified. In this study, ST1 in gastrointestinal patients compared to asymptomatic individuals was significantly dominant (p = 0.001). From 33 (33 %) mixed subtype infections, ST1, 3 (14 %) was significantly related to GI symptoms (p = 0.045), and eight mixed infections with three different STs, which are under reported, were also identified.
芽囊原虫是一种不常见的人类和许多动物的肠道原生动物寄生虫，其致病潜力仍存在争议。为了增加对这种新兴寄生虫的分子流行病学的了解，并且由于其对公共卫生的潜在影响，对伊朗有症状和无症状个体中的亚型（ST）进行了确定。通过显微镜和培养方法共获得了 100 个芽囊原虫分离株。从阳性培养分离株中提取 DNA，并使用 7 种亚型特异性测序标记位点（STS）引物鉴定芽囊原虫亚型。鉴定出了 4 种亚型，优势亚型为 ST3（53%），其次是 ST1（48%）、ST5（33%）和 ST2（7%）。在这项研究中，与无症状个体相比，胃肠道患者中的 ST1 明显占优势（p=0.001）。在 33 例（33%）混合亚型感染中，ST1、3（14%）与 GI 症状显著相关（p=0.045），还鉴定出了 8 例混合感染了三种不同的 ST，这些 ST 报道较少。
