Geographical Distribution of MDR1 Expression in Leishmania Isolates, from Greece and Cyprus, Measured by the Rhodamine-123 Efflux Potential of the Isolates, Using Flow Cytometry.

Geographical Distribution of MDR1 Expression in Leishmania Isolates, from Greece and Cyprus, Measured by the Rhodamine-123 Efflux Potential of the Isolates, Using Flow Cytometry. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2016 Mar 21; Authors: Tsirigotakis N, Christodoulou V, Ntais P, Mazeris A, Koutala E, Messaritakis I, Antoniou M Abstract Leishmaniasis, a neglected vector-borne disease caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania, is encountered in 98 countries causing serious concerns to public health. The most alarming is the development of parasite drug resistance, a phenomenon increasingly encountered in the field rendering chemotherapy ineffective. Although resistance to drugs is a complex phenomenon, the rate of efflux of the fluorescent dye Rhodamine-123 from the parasite body, using flow cytometry, is an indication of the isolate's ability to efflux the drug, thus avoiding death. The rate of efflux of 275 Leishmania strains, isolated from patients and dogs from Greece and Cyprus, was measured and mapped to study the geographical distribution of the multidrug resistance (MDR1) gene expression as an indication of the drug resistance of the parasite. The map showed that out of the seven prefectures, where dogs presented high efflux rates, five also had patients with high efflux rates. In one, out of the 59 prefectures studied, the highest number of isolates with efflux slope α > 1, in both human and dog isolates, was found, a fact which may sugge...
Source: Am J Trop Med Hyg - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Tags: Am J Trop Med Hyg Source Type: research