title: Ribodemes of Blastocystis hominis isolated in Japan.
abstract: To determine if genetic diversity of Blastocystis hominis exists in Japan, we monitored 64 B. hominis-infected people: 39 asymptomatic people whose infections were detected during routine medical check-ups (32 Japanese and 7 non-Japanese) and 25 patients with gastrointestinal symptoms who visited the outpatient clinics of St. Luke's International Hospital (19 Japanese and 6 non-Japanese). We detected 6 known and 2 new riboprint patterns in isolates from the infected people. There were no differences in the distribution of ribodemes between isolates from Japanese and non-Japanese people, similar to that in other countries. However, we noted a possible relationship between ribodeme type and pathogenicity. The results suggest that ribodemes I, III, and VI may be responsible for gastrointestinal symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kaneda
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Horiki
authors.forename: X J
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tachibana
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016776:Blastocystis Infections / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D016845:Blastocystis hominis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D002353:Carrier State; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis*; D005784:Gene Amplification; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D007564:Japan; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D021521:Ribotyping
chemical_list: D004275:DNA, Ribosomal