Yi Myung-Hee, Kim Myungjun, Choi Jun Ho, Cho Yoon Hee, Oh Hyun Kyung, Park Jung-Won, Kim Ju Yeong
Department of Tropical Medicine, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea.
Institute of Allergy, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea.
Parasites Hosts Dis. 2025 Aug;63(3):254-257. doi: 10.3347/PHD.25028. Epub 2025 Aug 20.
Trichomonads are flagellated protozoa that have occasionally been detected in the human respiratory tract, although detection rates have often been underestimated. We applied a nested PCR assay targeting the 18S rRNA gene of trichomonads to induced sputum from asthma patients to determine the prevalence of Trichomonas. Induced sputum was collected from 41 adults with asthma and analyzed through nested PCR using broad-range trichomonad primers and DNA sequencing for species identification. Nested PCR detected trichomonad DNA in 10 of the 41 (24.4%) samples. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed Trichomonas tenax in 8 cases and Tetratrichomonas sp. in 2 cases. These findings indicate that trichomonads can be present in the lower airways of patients with asthma, warranting further investigation into their clinical relevance.
毛滴虫是有鞭毛的原生动物，虽然其检出率常常被低估，但偶尔也能在人类呼吸道中检测到。我们应用了一种针对毛滴虫18S rRNA基因的巢式PCR检测方法，对哮喘患者的诱导痰进行检测，以确定毛滴虫的患病率。从41名成年哮喘患者中收集诱导痰，并使用通用的毛滴虫引物通过巢式PCR进行分析，并通过DNA测序进行物种鉴定。巢式PCR在41份样本中的10份（24.4%）中检测到了毛滴虫DNA。测序和系统发育分析显示，8例为口腔毛滴虫，2例为四毛滴虫属。这些发现表明，毛滴虫可存在于哮喘患者的下呼吸道，有必要进一步研究它们的临床相关性。
