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Is the genetic variability of Cathepsin B important in the pathogenesis of Blastocystis spp.?

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Abstract

The potential role of Blastocystis as a pathogen is controversial because it is found in both symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers. Since Cathepsin B has been identified as a main virulence factor that contributes to the pathogenesis of this parasite, the purpose of this study was to analyze the genetic polymorphisms of cathepsin B from Blastocystis from patients with irritable bowel syndrome and from asymptomatic carriers. DNA from fecal samples of both groups, which were previously genotyped by 18S sequencing, was used to amplify a fragment of the cathepsin B gene. Phylogenetic reconstructions were performed and some genetic population indexes were obtained. Amplicons of 27 samples (15 cases, 10 controls, and two commercial ATCC strains) were obtained and analyzed. Phylogenetic reconstructions using nucleotides or inferred amino acid sequences did not separate between cases or controls or among subtypes. Regarding the values of genetic variability, we found that the haplotype and nucleotide diversity indexes of cathepsin B from cases and controls were similar to the values of 18S from controls. By contrast, 18S from cases showed low variability, suggesting that the genetic variability of cathepsin B was not related to the symptomatology of Blastocystis carriers. However, since no polymorphisms related to cases or controls were found, it is logical to assume that the potential damage caused by Blastocystis in situ may be due to unclear mechanisms of Cathepsin B regulation and expression that should be studied in future studies.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Eduardo Lopez-Escamilla, Saul Cano-Colin, and William Arony Martinez-Flores for technical support.

Funding

This work was supported by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT) grant CB-2011/168619. Nelly Raquel Gonzalez-Arenas is a doctoral student from Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biomedicas, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) and received fellowships 220301 and 25263 (CB-2011/168619) by CONACYT.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital General “Dr. Manuel Gea Gonzalez”, Calzada de Tlalpan 4800, Del. Tlalpan, 14080, Mexico City, Mexico

    Nelly Raquel Gonzalez-Arenas, Gie Bele Vargas-Sanchez, Christian Alberto Avalos-Galarza, Maria Elena Ramirez-Miranda, Angelica Olivo-Diaz, Mirza Romero-Valdovinos, Fernando Martinez-Hernandez & Pablo Maravilla

  2. Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico

    Guiehdani Villalobos

  3. Departamento de Secuenciacion, Instituto de Biologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico

    Laura Margarita Marquez-Valdelamar

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  1. Nelly Raquel Gonzalez-Arenas
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  2. Guiehdani Villalobos
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  3. Gie Bele Vargas-Sanchez
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  4. Christian Alberto Avalos-Galarza
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  5. Laura Margarita Marquez-Valdelamar
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  6. Maria Elena Ramirez-Miranda
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  7. Angelica Olivo-Diaz
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Correspondence to Fernando Martinez-Hernandez or Pablo Maravilla.

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Gonzalez-Arenas, N.R., Villalobos, G., Vargas-Sanchez, G.B. et al. Is the genetic variability of Cathepsin B important in the pathogenesis of Blastocystis spp.?. Parasitol Res 117, 3935–3943 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-018-6103-4

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