title: Molecular typing of Treponema pallidum isolates from Buenos Aires, Argentina: Frequent Nichols-like isolates and low levels of macrolide resistance.
abstract: A total of 54 clinical samples, including genital lesion swabs, whole blood and cerebrospinal fluid from patients diagnosed with syphilis were collected in 2006 and in 2013 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Treponemal DNA was detected in 43 of the analyzed samples (79.6%) and further analyzed using Sequencing-based molecular typing (SBMT) and Enhanced CDC-typing (ECDCT). By SBMT, 10 different Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum (TPA) genotypes were found, of which six were related to the TPA SS14 strain, and four to the TPA Nichols strain. The 23S rRNA gene was amplified in samples isolated from 42 patients, and in six of them (14.3%), either the A2058G (four patients, 9.5%) or the A2059G (two patients, 4.8%) mutations were found. In addition to Taiwan, Madagascar and Peru, Argentina is another country where the prevalence of Nichols-like isolates (26.8%) is greater than 10%.
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica, Cátedra de Microbiología Clínica, Buenos Aires, Argentina.|Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Fisiopatología y Bioquímica Clínica (INFIBIOC), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gallo Vaulet
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grillová
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Lenka
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mikalová
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Hospital de Clínicas "José de San Martín", Programa de Enfermedades de Transmisión Sexual (PETS), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Casco
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica Clínica, Cátedra de Microbiología Clínica, Buenos Aires, Argentina.|Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Fisiopatología y Bioquímica Clínica (INFIBIOC), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodríguez Fermepin
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: María A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pando
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Šmajs
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001118:Argentina / Q000453:epidemiology; D001483:Base Sequence; D002947:Cities; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018942:Macrolides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D010802:Phylogeny; D013587:Syphilis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D014210:Treponema pallidum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D018942:Macrolides