New human case reports of cutaneous leishmaniasis by Leishmania (Viannia) naiffi in the Amazon region, Brazil

ABSTRACT Few cases of human cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by Leishmania naiffi were described in the medical literature. The aim of this study was to report and analyze new cases of L. naiffi in the period between the years 1992 to 2011. The strains were characterized by isoenzyme analysis. All patients assisted had small lesions; ranging from 1.0x1.0 mm and 13.5x11.5 mm. The lesions observed were widely distributed: 55.5% on the lower limb, 5.5% in the abdominal area, 16.6% on upper limb and 22.2% in upper limb and back. Seventy-two percent of patients had ulcerated lesions. Clinical course of the disease varied from 1 to 10 months. According to gender, most infected individuals were men (83.3%). The patients came from Amazonas (10), Par

Epidemiological and nosological aspects of Leishmania naiffi Lainson & Shaw, 1989.

Leishmania naiffi was isolated from 10 out of 64 armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) examined in Amazonas, Pará and Rondônia States in the Brazilian Amazon Region. The isolates were obtained in culture from samples of liver (3), spleen (3), lymph nodes (2), skin (1) and blood (1) from the infected animals. Heavy infections with the same parasite were detected for the first time in Psychodopygus squamiventris, a common man-biting phlebotomine, in Amazonas and Pará. A new case of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. naiffi is described from the Manaus area, making a total of three known cases of human infection by this parasite

Enzyme polymorphism in Endotrypanum and numerical analysis of isoenzyme data

In this study, we have analysed enzyme polymorphism among a group of protozoan parasites of the genus Endotrypanum (Kinetoplastida: Tryganosomatidae). Seventeen stocks of Endotrypanum spp. isolated from sloths (Choloepus didactylus and C. juruanus) in the Amazon Region of Brazil were analysed by enzyme electrophoresis, and their electromorphic profiles were compared with reference strains reported previously. The 16 enzymic loci were analysed, and the strains were classified into zymodemes, each representing parasites with unique enzyme profiles. Each zymodeme was considered as an elementary taxon, and using numerical analyses (cladistic, agglomerative hierarchical and ordination techniques) the genus was shown to be monophyletic and the 12 zymodemes characterized could be divided into 3 groups (A, B, C). The heterogeneous population (which may represent a complex of parasite species or strains variants) showed, however, no correlation with the origin (i.e, host species involved or geographic area of isolation) of Endotrypanum stocks. Eight isolates of Endotrypanum sp. from Rondonia State (Brazil) and a parasite strain from Panama were clustered together into a zymodeme, which was phenetically closely related to the E. monterogeii from Costa Rica. The data indicate that E. schaudinni is a species complex

Characterization of Endotrypanum Parasites Using Specific Monoclonal Antibodies

A large number of Endotrypanum stocks (representing an heterogeneous population of strains) have been screened against a panel of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) derived for selected species of Endotrypanum or Leishmania, to see whether this approach could be used to group/differentiate further among these parasites. Using different immunological assay systems, MAbs considered specific for the genus Endotrypanum (E-24, CXXX-3G5-F12) or strain M6159 of E. schaudinni (E-2. CXIV-3C7-F5) reacted variably according to the test used but in the ELISA or immunofluorescence assay both reacted with all the strains tested. Analyses using these MAbs showed antigenic diversity occurring among the Endotrypanum strains, but no qualitative or quantitative reactivity pattern could be consistently related to parasite origin (i.e., host species involved) or geographic area of isolation. Western blot analyses of the parasites showed that these MAbs recognized multiple components. Differences existed either in the epitope density or molecular forms associated with the antigenic determinants and therefore allowed the assignment of the strains to specific antigenic groups. Using immunofluorescence or ELISA assay, clone E-24 produced reaction with L. equatorensis (which is a parasite of sloth and rodent), but not with other trypanosomatids examined. Interestingly, the latter parasite and the Endotrypanum strains cross-reacted with a number of MAbs that were produced against members of the L. major-L. tropica complex