Detection of Wolbachia DNA in blood from dogs infected with Dirofilaria immitis.
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.
Rossi
Maria Inês Doria
MI
Oswaldo Cruz Institute, FIOCRUZ, Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Medical Researches, Avenida Brazil, 4365, Cep: 21.045.900 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. doria@ioc.fiocruz.br
Aguiar-Alves
Fábio
F
Santos
Simone
S
Paiva
Jonimar
J
Bendas
Alexandre
A
Fernandes
Octavio
O
Labarthe
Norma
N
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
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C071525:FtsZ protein, Bacteria