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Immunological Identification of Trypanosoma cruzi Lineages in Human Infection Along the Endemic Area

2011; American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; Volume: 84; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4269/ajtmh.2011.10-0177

1476-1645

Marikena G. Risso, Paula Sartor, Juan M. Burgos, Luis Briceño, Eva Mary Rodríguez, Felipe Guhl, Omar Triana Chavez, Bertha Espinoza, Victor M. Monteón, Graciela Russomando, Alejandro G. Schijman, Óscar Bottasso, María Susana Leguizamón,

Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences

Genotyping studies show a polarized geographic distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi lineages in humans. Here, we assessed their distribution along Latin America through an immunological approach we designated Western blot (WB) assay with Trypomastigote small-surface antigen (TSSA) I and TSSA II (TSSA-WB). These antigens are expressed by T. cruzi I (TCI; now TcI) and T. cruzi II (TCII; reclassified as TcII to TcVI) parasites. TSSA-WB showed good concordance with genotyping tests. An unexpected frequency of TSSA II recognition was observed in Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico (northern region of Latin America). In Argentina and Paraguay (southern region), immunophenotyping confirmed the already reported TCII (TcII to TcVI) dominance. The lineage distribution between these regions showed significant difference but not among countries within them (except for Colombia and Venezuela). TSSA-WB shows TCII emergence in the northern region where TCI was reported as dominant or even as the unique T. cruzi lineage infecting humans.