title: Genotyping of potentially pathogenic Acanthamoeba strains isolated from nasal swabs of healthy individuals in Peru.
abstract: Free Living Amoebae (FLA) of Acanthamoeba genus are widely distributed in the environment and can be found in the air, soil and water; and have also been isolated from air-conditioning units. In humans, they are causative agents of a sight-threating infection of the cornea, Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) and a fatal infection of the central nervous system known as Granulomatous Amoebic Encephalitis (GAE). In this study, a survey was conducted in order to determine the presence and pathogenic potential of free-living amoebae of Acanthamoeba genus in nasal swabs from individuals in two regions of Peru. Identification of isolates was based on cyst morphology and PCR-sequencing of the Diagnostic Fragment 3 to identify strains at the genotype level. The pathogenic potential of the isolates was also assayed using temperature and osmotolerance assays and extracellular proteases zymograms. The obtained results revealed that all isolated strains exhibited pathogenic potential. After sequencing the highly variable DF3 (Diagnostic Fragment 3) region in the 18S rRNA gene as previously described, genotype T4 was found to be the most common one in the samples included in this study but also genotype T15 was identified. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on the characterization of Acanthamoeba strains at the genotype level and the first report of genotype T4 and T15 in Peru.
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands, University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain; Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Tropical Medicine Institute "Alexander von Humboldt" IMT-AvH, Lima, Peru. Electronic address: amcabello_v@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Alfonso Martín
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Cabello-Vílchez
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands, University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain; Centre for Integrative Physiology, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Carmen María
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Martín-Navarro
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands, University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
authors.forename: Atteneri
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: López-Arencibia
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands, University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reyes-Batlle
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands, University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: González
authors.affiliation: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Tropical Medicine Institute "Alexander von Humboldt" IMT-AvH, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Humberto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guerra
authors.affiliation: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Tropical Medicine Institute "Alexander von Humboldt" IMT-AvH, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gotuzzo
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands, University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
authors.forename: Basilio
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Valladares
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands, University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
authors.forename: José E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Piñero
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands, University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lorenzo-Morales
mesh_terms: D000048:Acanthamoeba / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000469:parasitology*
keywords: Acanthamoeba; Genotyping; Nasal swabs; Peru