title: Detection of Wolbachia DNA in blood from dogs infected with Dirofilaria immitis.
abstract: Dirofilaria immitis is the causative agent of heartworm disease in canines and felines, and pulmonary dirofilariasis in man. It harbors a symbiotic intracellular bacterium from the genus Wolbachia that plays an important role in its biology and contributes to the inflammatory pathology of the heartworm. This endosymbiont is sensitive to the tetracycline family of antibiotics prompting its use in the treatment of filariasis. To track Wolbachia during treatment, primers were designed based on the FtsZ gene from Wolbachia. These primers amplify a single PCR product with the expected size from DNA samples derived from various species of worms that harbor Wolbachia (D. immitis, Brugia malayi and Brugia pahangy). The detection limit of Wolbachia DNA in the assay was 80 pg of D. immitis DNA. Furthermore, the primer set successfully amplified the expected PCR product using blood samples from dogs harboring the heartworm and circulating microfilariae.
authors.affiliation: Oswaldo Cruz Institute, FIOCRUZ, Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Medical Researches, Avenida Brazil, 4365, Cep: 21.045.900 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. doria@ioc.fiocruz.br
authors.forename: Maria Inês Doria
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Fábio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Aguiar-Alves
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Jonimar
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Paiva
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bendas
authors.forename: Octavio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Norma
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Labarthe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry; D004183:Dirofilaria immitis / Q000382:microbiology*; D004184:Dirofilariasis / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008842:Microfilariae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013559:Symbiosis; D020577:Wolbachia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C071525:FtsZ protein, Bacteria