| Ali Khamesipour | 3 Articles |
Cutaneous leishmaniosis (CL) is the most common form of leishmaniasis.CL caused by L. major and L. tropica is endemic in 17 provinces of Iran. This study was carried out to elucidate situation of CL in Ardabil province and to predict distribution of Phlebotomus papatasi and Phlebotomus sergenti (Diptera: Psychodidae) as vectors of CL in the region. In this cross-sectional study, data on CL patients were collected from local health centers of Ardabil province, Iran during 2006-2018 to establish a geodatabase using ArcGIS10.3. A total of 20 CL cases were selected randomly and skin samples were collected and analyzed by PCR method. MaxEnt 3.3.3 model was used to determine ecologically suitable niches for the main vectors. A total, 309 CL human cases were reported and the highest incidence rate of disease was occurred in Bilasavar (37/100,000) and Germi (35/100,000). A total of 2,794 sand flies were collected during May to October 2018. The environmentally suitable habitats for P. papatasi and P. sergenti were predicted to be present in northern and central areas of Ardabil province. The most variable that contributed ratio in the modeling were Isothermality and slope factors. Ardabil province is possibly an endemic are for CL. The presence of P. papatasi and P. sergenti justifies local transmission while the vectors of CL are existing in the northern and central areas of the province.
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Despite the broad distribution of leishmaniasis among Iranians and animals across the country, little is known about the genetic characteristics of the causative agents. Applying both HSP70 PCR-RFLP and sequence analyses, this study aimed to evaluate the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships among Leishmania spp. isolated from Iranian endemic foci and available reference strains. A total of 36 Leishmania isolates from almost all districts across the country were genetically analyzed for the HSP70 gene using both PCR-RFLP and sequence analysis. The original HSP70 gene sequences were aligned along with homologous Leishmania sequences retrieved from NCBI, and subjected to the phylogenetic analysis. Basic parameters of genetic diversity were also estimated. The HSP70 PCR-RFLP presented 3 different electrophoretic patterns, with no further intraspecific variation, corresponding to 3 Leishmania species available in the country, L. tropica, L. major, and L. infantum. Phylogenetic analyses presented 5 major clades, corresponding to 5 species complexes. Iranian lineages, including L. major, L. tropica, and L. infantum, were distributed among 3 complexes L. major, L. tropica, and L. donovani. However, within the L. major and L. donovani species complexes, the HSP70 phylogeny was not able to distinguish clearly between the L. major and L. turanica isolates, and between the L. infantum, L. donovani, and L. chagasi isolates, respectively. Our results indicated that both HSP70 PCR-RFLP and sequence analyses are medically applicable tools for identification of Leishmania species in Iranian patients. However, the reduced genetic diversity of the target gene makes it inevitable that its phylogeny only resolves the major groups, namely, the species complexes.
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The mainstay therapy against leishmaniasis is still pentavalent antimonial drugs; however, the rate of antimony resistance is increasing in endemic regions such as Iran. Understanding the molecular basis of resistance to antimonials could be helpful to improve treatment strategies. This study aimed to recognize genes involved in antimony resistance of Citations Citations to this article as recorded by
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