title: Molecular identification of Leishmania tropica infections in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis from an endemic central of Iran.
abstract: The most common form of the disease is cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) which is a public health and social problem in many countries especially Iran. In endemic areas where other diseases with similar clinical symptoms occur, definitive diagnosis of CL is very important. The detection and identification of Leishmania in infected patients is crucial for achieving a correct treatment and prognosis. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study in terms of geographical distribution and molecular identification of Leishmania tropica isolates in central of Iran. This study was performed between 2010 and 2011, during which 218 CL suspected patients referred to Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd, Iran for confirmation were examined. After microscopic analysis, DNA extraction was performed for identification. The molecular target region was ITS1 gene. Results showed that out of 218 isolates, 102 (46.8%) samples were positive for Leishman body using molecular assay. After PCR-RFLP, analysis identified 50 (49.01%) samples as L. major and 52 (50.98%) as L. tropica. Two samples showed a different pattern that were reported as unknown. Among L. tropica, six different isolates were identified in this endemic area. Finally, this study showed heterozygosity among L. tropica isolates in this endemic area such as some other studies from the world. This heterozygosity among the strains may suggest a sexual recombination or genetic exchange between strains.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Molecular Identification of Food Hazards, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
authors.forename: Gilda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Eslami
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Molecular Identification of Food Hazards, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
authors.forename: Bahador
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hajimohammadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
authors.forename: Abbas Ali
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Jafari
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Para-Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
authors.forename: Farzaneh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mirzaei
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gholamrezai
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Anvari
authors.affiliation: Center for Research and Training in Skin Disease and Leprosy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khamesipour
mesh_terms: D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D007895:Leishmania tropica / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D008853:Microscopy; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D010274:Parasitology / Q000379:methods*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D019371:Topography, Medical
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer