title: Variability of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum among stocks from immunocompromised, immunocompetent patients and dogs in Spain.
abstract: Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum is the causative agent of both the cutaneous and visceral forms of leishmaniasis in southwest Europe; the dog is the main reservoir. In order to identify the L. (L.) infantum zymodemes present in Spain, a total number of 85 Leishmania stocks isolated from dogs (31), HIV-positive patients (46) with visceral or cutaneous leishmaniasis, a patient with visceral leishmaniasis complicating renal transplantation (1) and immunocompetent patients (7) with visceral or cutaneous leishmaniasis, have been characterized by isoenzyme typing. All canine stocks were MON-1, which is the most widespread zymodeme in the Mediterranean area. In immunocompetent patients three zymodemes were found: MON-1 (2), MON-24 (2) and MON-34 (3). Nine different zymodemes were obtained in stocks from HIV co-infected patients, indicating a higher variability of L. (L.) infantum amongst them: MON-1 (in 21 stocks), MON-24 (7), MON-28 (1), MON-29 (3), MON-33 (7), MON-34 (1) and MON-183 (4). Two new zymodemes, MON-198 (1) and MON-199 (1), were described among HIV patients from Spain. The stock from the renal transplanted patient was MON-1. The exclusive presence of certain zymodemes in immunocompromised patients and their absence in typical cases of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis and in infected dogs suggests two possibilities: (i) an anthroponotic pattern of leishmaniasis where intravenous drug user-infected patients act as potential reservoir for these new zymodemes. In the latter, syringes could act as the vehicles for infected monocytes; (ii) the cellular immune system could select virulent from non-virulent zymodemes in immunocompetent visceral leishmaniasis patients.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Referencia de Leishmaniasis, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jiménez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferrer-Dufol
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cañavate
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez-Solar
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Laguna
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: López-Vélez
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cercenado
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Daudén
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blázquez
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D000818:Animals; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D004285:Dogs / Q000469:parasitology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007121:Immunocompetence; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000235:genetics; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014774:Virulence / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes