title: Endosymbiotic Mycobacterium chelonae in a Vermamoeba vermiformis strain isolated from the nasal mucosa of an HIV patient in Lima, Peru.
abstract: In March 2010, a 35 year-old HIV/AIDS female patient was admitted to hospital to start treatment with Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) since during a routine control a dramatic decrease in the CD4(+) levels was detected. At this stage, a nasal swab from each nostril was collected from the patient to include it in the samples for the case study mentioned above. Moreover, it is important to mention that the patient was diagnosed in 2009 with invasive pneumococcal disease, acute cholecystitis, pancreatitis and pulmonary tuberculosis. The collected nasal swabs from both nostrils were positive for Vermamoeba vermiformis species which was identified using morphological and PCR/DNA sequencing approaches. Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) homology and phylogenetic analysis confirmed the amoebic strain to belong to V.vermiformis species. Molecular identification of the Mycobacterium strain was carried out using a bacterial universal primer pair for the 16S rDNA gene at the genus level and the rpoB gene was amplified and sequenced as previously described to identify the Mycobacterium species (Shin et al., 2008; Sheen et al., 2013). Homology and phylogenetic analyses of the rpoB gene confirmed the species as Mycobacterium chelonae. In parallel, collected swabs were tested by PCR and were positive for the presence of V.vermiformis and M.chelonae. This work describes the identification of an emerging bacterial pathogen,M.chelonae from a Free-Living Amoebae (FLA) strain belonging to the species V.vermiformis that colonized the nasal cavities of an HIV/AIDS patient, previously diagnosed with TB. Awareness within clinicians and public health professionals should be raised, as pathogenic agents such as M.chelonae may be using FLA to propagate and survive in the environment.
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands, University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain; Medical Technology School, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Alfonso Martín
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Cabello-Vílchez
authors.affiliation: Immunohistochemistry Laboratory, National Hospital Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Rosmery
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mena
authors.affiliation: Medical Technology School, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zuñiga
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cermeño
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, UK.
authors.forename: Carmen Ma
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: Ana C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: González
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: 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: 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. Electronic address: jmlorenz@ull.edu.es.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lorenzo-Morales
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000562:Amebiasis / Q000150:complications*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D006249:Hartmannella / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009165:Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / Q000150:complications* / Q000635:transmission; D016926:Mycobacterium chelonae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D010568:Peru; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D016054:DNA, Protozoan
keywords: Amoebae; Mycobacterium chelonae; PCR; Vermamoeba vermiformis