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Advances in the Study of Blastocystis spp. in Mexico: Prevalence, Genetic Diversity, Clinical Association and Their Possible Role in the Human Intestine

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Eukaryome Impact on Human Intestine Homeostasis and Mucosal Immunology

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Abstract

Blastocystis spp. has a worldwide distribution, and it has been associated with gastrointestinal symptomatology; however, its role in health or disease remains unclear. Subtype 3 is the most frequently reported subtype in different populations, with a high haplotype diversity. The recent diversity of this protist may be related to the migration of the human population. The ST3 haplotype network shows that haplotype 1 is ancestor from which the other haplotypes are derived. In the studied community (Xoxocotla, Morelos), a direct association exists between the presence of Blastocystis spp. and the changes in the bacterial and eukaryotic intestinal microbiota in the absence of gastrointestinal or inflammatory diseases, indicating that Blastocystis ST3 favors the diversity and richness of bacterial populations and decrease the inflammatory processes. Thus, there is important evidence that suggests that Blastocystis spp. plays an important role as a mutualist in the regulation of the inflammatory response in the studied healthy individuals.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Marco Gudiño for his excellent technical assistance. The authors are grateful to the Health Ministry of the state of Morelos, Mexico for supporting this study in the community of Xoxocotla. Liliana Rojas-Velázquez is a doctoral student from Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and was supported by the fellowship 348424/239901 from CONACYT. This paper constitutes a partial fulfilment of the Graduate Program.

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Funding

This study was funded by Grants IN215018, from PAPIIT (DGAPA), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and 272601 from the National Council for Science and Technology in Mexico (CONACYT).

Disclosure of Interests

All authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Approval was granted by the Mexican Commission on Ethics and Research of the Health Ministry of the state of Morelos (Comisiones de Ética y de Investigación del Ministerio de Salud del Estado de Morelos); and the Commission on Ethics in Research of the Facultad de Medicina of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (Comité de Ética de Investigación de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).

Informed Consent

Informed consent for participation and publication was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Inmunología, Unidad de Investigación en Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico

    P. Morán-Silva, M. E. Nieves-Ramírez, L. Rojas-Velázquez, A. Serrano-Vázquez, E. González-Rivas, E. Hernández-Hernández, H. Pérez-Juárez, O. Partida-Rodríguez, U. Magaña & C. Ximénez-García

  2. Unidad de Posgrado, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ciudad de México, Mexico

    L. Rojas-Velázquez & U. Magaña

  3. Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    M. C. Arieta & B. B. Finlay

  4. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    M. C. Arieta

  5. Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    M. C. Arieta

  6. Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory, Department of Agriculture, United States, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, USA

    M. Santín

  7. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    B. B. Finlay

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  1. P. Morán-Silva
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  2. M. E. Nieves-Ramírez
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  3. L. Rojas-Velázquez
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  4. A. Serrano-Vázquez
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  5. E. González-Rivas
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  6. E. Hernández-Hernández
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  7. H. Pérez-Juárez
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  8. O. Partida-Rodríguez
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  9. M. C. Arieta
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  10. U. Magaña
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  11. M. Santín
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  12. B. B. Finlay
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  13. C. Ximénez-García
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Correspondence to C. Ximénez-García .

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  1. Institute Pasteur, Paris, France

    Nancy Guillen

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Morán-Silva, P. et al. (2020). Advances in the Study of Blastocystis spp. in Mexico: Prevalence, Genetic Diversity, Clinical Association and Their Possible Role in the Human Intestine. In: Guillen, N. (eds) Eukaryome Impact on Human Intestine Homeostasis and Mucosal Immunology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44826-4_6

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