Pneumocystis jirovecii haplotypes at the internal transcribed spacers of the rRNA operon in French HIV-negative patients with diverse clinical presentations of Pneumocystis infections.

International audiencePneumocystis jirovecii, a transmissible fungus, is the causative agent of pulmonary infections. Its genomic diversity has appeared in reports from around the world but data on P. jirovecii genotypes in France are still limited. This study describes the typing of P. jirovecii isolates from 81 HIV-negative patients monitored at Brest University Hospital, Brittany, France, 40 of whom developed Pneumocystis pneumonia (PcP), and remaining 41 patients were colonized by the fungus. The isolates were assayed at the internal transcribed spacer (ITS)1 and ITS2 under improved amplification conditions to avoid in vitro ITS recombination. P. jirovecii ITS haplotypes were identified in 56/81 patients (31 PcP patients and 25 patients who were colonized) which revealed a high diversity in that 27 different haplotypes were identified. Eg was the most frequent haplotype (31/56, 55.3%), followed by Ec and Ai (5/56, 8.9% each). In contrast, Ne, usually the second most frequent haplotype in Europe and the USA, was observed in only 2/56 patients (3.6%). Mixed infections were detected in 18/56 patients (32.1%; 12 PcP patients and six who were colonized). No significant differences were observed in haplotype diversity, frequency of peculiar haplotypes, and mixed infection occurrence, between the two patient populations. The study, conducted with the largest HIV-negative patient population investigated so far, shows that ITS typing remains an efficient method for characterizing P. jirovecii among human populations, whatever their clinical presentation of Pneumocystis infections

Prévalence de Pneumocystis jirovecii chez les patients atteints de mucoviscidose en Bretagne

National audiencePneumocystis jirovecii (P. jirovecii) est un champignon atypique et transmissible à fort tropisme pulmonaire. La prévalence de P. jirovecii chez les patients atteints de mucoviscidose a été évaluée en Allemagne à 7,4 %, en Espagne à 21,6 % et au Brésil à 38,2 %. En revanche, les données concernant la prévalence de P. jirovecii chez les patients atteints de mucoviscidose en France restent parcellaires en particulier en Bretagne, région où la prévalence de la mucoviscidose est élevée. L’objectif de ce travail a été de déterminer la prévalence de la colonisation de P. jirovecii en Bretagne chez les patients mucoviscidosiques suivis dans les CRCM de Rennes et de Brest-Roscoff. Les expectorations de 86 patients (178 prélèvements) suivis à Rennes et 76 patients (146 prélèvements) suivis à Brest-Roscoff ont été analysées rétrospectivement. La détection de P. jirovecii a été réalisée à l’aide d’une PCR en temps réel ciblant le gène codant pour l’ARN de la grande sous-unité du ribosome de la mitochondrie. P. jirovecii a été détecté chez 3/86 patients (3,5 %) suivis à Rennes et 1/76 patients (1,3 %) suivis à Brest-Roscoff, soit une prévalence globale de 2,5 %. Ces résultats portant sur 2 centres bretons montrent que la prévalence de P. jirovecii chez les patients atteints de mucoviscidose en Bretagne est faible en comparaison de celle observée en Allemagne, en Espagne et au Brésil. Cette étude constitue l’étape préalable indispensable pour déterminer les facteurs de risque d’acquisition du champignon chez les patients mucoviscidosiques et expliquer ces différences de prévalenc

Pneumocystis jirovecii and Cystic Fibrosis in Brittany, France

International audiencePneumocystis jirovecii is a transmissible fungus with a high pulmonary tropism. The prevalence of P. jirovecii in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) has been estimated in Germany at 7.4%, in Spain at 21.5% and in Brazil at 38.2%. Data on the prevalence of P. jirovecii in CF patients in France remain scarce, particularly in Brittany, where the prevalence of CF is high (from 1/1600 to 1/4500). Our objectives were to determine the prevalence of colonization of the airways by P. jirovecii in Brittany in CF patients monitored at the "Centre de Ressources et de Comp,tences de la Mucoviscidose (CRCM)" of Rennes compared to that previously observed at the CRCM of Roscoff-Brest. Sputa from 86 patients (178 specimens) followed in Rennes were analyzed retrospectively. The detection of P. jirovecii was performed using real-time PCR targeting the gene encoding the mitochondrial large subunit of ribosomal RNA. Pneumocystis jirovecii DNA was detected in 3/86 patients (3.5%) monitored at Rennes, whereas it had previously been detected in 1/76 patients (1.3%) monitored at Roscoff-Brest, thus showing an overall prevalence of 2.5% in Brittany. These results obtained from two Breton centers taken together show that P. jirovecii prevalence in patients with CF in Brittany is lower than those observed in Germany, Spain, Brazil or in other regions of France. This study is a preliminary step in determining the risk factors for P. jirovecii acquisition, its epidemiological and clinical significance in CF patients through a prospective multicenter study