Deletions of pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 genes of Plasmodium falciparum from Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua

Deletions of pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 genes of Plasmodium falciparum from Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua

Malaria remains a public health problem in some countries of Central America. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are one of the most useful tools to assist in the diagnosis of malaria in remote areas. Since its introduction, a wide variety of RDTs have been developed for the detection of different parasi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Malaria journal Vol. 17; no. 1; p. 320
Main Authors: Fontecha, Gustavo, Mejía, Rosa E, Banegas, Engels, Ade, Maria Paz, Mendoza, Lisandro, Ortiz, Bryan, Sabillón, Isaac, Alvarado, Gerardo, Matamoros, Gabriela, Pinto, Alejandra
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 31-08-2018
BioMed Central
BMC
Subjects:
Antigens
Central America
Detection
Development and progression
Diagnosis
Diagnostic tests
DNA
Erythrocytes
Evaluation
Gene mutation
Genes
Genetic aspects
Health aspects
Health surveillance
Human diseases
Infections
Malaria
Microscopy
Mutants
Mutation
Nucleotide sequence
Parasite antigens
Parasites
PCR
pfhrp2
pfhrp3
Plasmodium falciparum
Proteins
Public health
RDT
Regions
Vector-borne diseases
Guatemala
Honduras
Nicaragua
Central America
Eritrea
Central America
Plasmodium falciparum
RDT
Malaria
pfhrp3
pfhrp2
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Summary:Malaria remains a public health problem in some countries of Central America. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are one of the most useful tools to assist in the diagnosis of malaria in remote areas. Since its introduction, a wide variety of RDTs have been developed for the detection of different parasite antigens. PfHRP2 is the most targeted antigen for the detection of Plasmodium falciparum infections. Genetic mutations and gene deletions are important factors influencing or affecting the performance of rapid diagnostic tests. In order to demonstrate the presence or absence of the pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 genes and their flanking regions, a total of 128 blood samples from patients with P. falciparum infection from three Central American countries were analysed through nested or semi-nested PCR approaches. In total, 25.8 and 91.4% of the isolates lacked the region located between exon 1 and exon 2 of pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 genes, respectively. Parasites from the three countries showed deletions of one or both genes. The highest proportion of pfhrp2 deletions was found in Nicaragua while the isolates from Guatemala revealed the lowest number of pfhrp2 deletions. Parasites collected from Honduras showed the highest proportion of phfrp3 absence (96.2%). Twenty-one percent of isolates were double negative mutants for the exon 1-2 segment of both genes, and 6.3% of isolates lacked the full-length coding region of both genes. This study provides molecular evidence of the existence of P. falciparum isolates lacking the pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 genes, and their flanking regions, in Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua. This finding could hinder progress in the control and elimination of malaria in Central America. Continuous evaluation of RDTs and molecular surveillance would be recommended.
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ISSN:1475-2875
1475-2875
DOI:10.1186/s12936-018-2470-7