title: Sudanese mucosal leishmaniasis: isolation of a parasite within the Leishmania donovani complex that differs genotypically from L. donovani causing classical visceral leishmaniasis.
abstract: Mucosal leishmaniasis, which is a sporadic disease in the Sudan, was shown by isoenzyme characterization and PCR to be caused by Leishmania donovani. However, it was not clear if the parasite was exactly the same strain as that causing visceral leishmaniasis (VL), or of a different strain. We utilized a new generation of molecular DNA markers, minisatellites and kinetoplast DNA, for rapid characterization of the parasite. The results show that the genotypes of some of the parasites causing VL are different from those causing mucosal leishmaniasis. The L. donovani isolates causing visceral disease, as well as post-kala-azar mucosal leishmaniasis (PKML), have been shown to possess characteristic haplotypes. However, sequencing of a portion of the cytochrome oxidase II (COII) gene indicates that the parasite that invades the oral mucosa is divergent from other parasites causing VL. It appears to possess features of a more ancestral parasite with pronounced sequence homology to L. major. This agrees with earlier studies where isolates of mucosal leishmaniasis have been shown to possess an isoenzyme profile distinct from L. donovani and a different geographical distribution, albeit often overlapping with that of L. donovani.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Endemic Diseases, University of Khartoum, P.O. Box 102, Khartoum, Sudan.
authors.forename: Muzamil
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mahdi
authors.forename: Elwaleed M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Elamin
authors.forename: Sara E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Melville
authors.forename: Ahmed M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Musa
authors.forename: Jenefer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Blackwell
authors.forename: Moawia M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mukhtar
authors.forename: Ahmed M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Elhassan
authors.forename: Muntaser E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics; D005819:Genetic Markers; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D007897:Leishmaniasis, Mucocutaneous / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats; D013397:Sudan / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D005819:Genetic Markers; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV