PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
The genus Acanthamoeba comprises free-living amoebae distributed in a wide variety of environments. These amoebae are clinically significant, causing opportunistic infections in humans and other animals. Despite this, limited data on Acanthamoeba sequence types and alleles are available in Italy. In the present study, we analyzed all Acanthamoeba sequences deposited from Italy with new positive Acanthamoeba clinical samples from symptomatic AK cases, to provide an overview of the genetic variants\' spatial patterns from different sources within the Italian context. A total of 137 Acanthamoeba sequences were obtained. Six sequence types were identified: T2/6, T3, T4, T11, T13, and T15. Only T4 and T15 were found in both sources. The Acanthamoeba T4 sequence type was found to be the most prevalent in all regions, accounting for 73% (100/137) of the Italian samples analyzed. The T4 sequence type demonstrated significant allelic diversity, with 30 distinct alleles from clinical and/or environmental samples. These outcomes enabled a better understanding of the distribution of Acanthamoeba isolates throughout Italy, reaffirming its well-recognized ubiquity. Acanthamoeba isolates analysis from keratitis, together with the environmental strains monitoring, might provide important information on different genotypes spreading. This might be useful to define the transmission pathways of human keratitis across different epidemiological scales.
摘要：
棘阿米巴属包括分布在各种环境中的自由生活的变形虫。这些变形虫具有临床意义，在人类和其他动物中引起机会性感染。尽管如此,在意大利，有关棘阿米巴序列类型和等位基因的数据有限。在本研究中,我们分析了来自意大利的所有棘阿米巴序列，并从有症状的AK病例中获得新的阳性棘阿米巴临床样本，提供意大利背景下来自不同来源的遗传变异\'空间模式的概述。共获得137个棘阿米巴序列。鉴定了六种序列类型:T2/6、T3、T4、T11、T13和T15。在两个来源中仅发现T4和T15。发现棘阿米巴T4序列类型在所有区域中最普遍，占分析的意大利样本的73%(100/137)。T4序列类型表现出显著的等位基因多样性，具有来自临床和/或环境样品的30个不同等位基因。这些结果使人们能够更好地了解整个意大利的棘阿米巴分离株的分布，重申其公认的普遍性。角膜炎的棘阿米巴分离株分析，连同环境菌株监测，可能提供有关不同基因型传播的重要信息。这可能有助于定义不同流行病学规模的人类角膜炎的传播途径。
