Korean J Parasitol.  2015 Apr;53(2):227-232. 10.3347/kjp.2015.53.2.227.

Genetic Polymorphisms in Plasmodium vivax Dihydrofolate Reductase and Dihydropteroate Synthase in Isolates from the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Nepal

• Thongdee P
• Kuesap J
• Rungsihirunrat K
• Dumre SP
• Espino E
• Noedl H
• Na-Bangchang K

• KMID: 2381822
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.2015.53.2.227

Abstract

Genetic polymorphisms of pvdhfr and pvdhps genes of Plasmodium vivax were investigated in 83 blood samples collected from patients in the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Nepal. The SNP-haplotypes of the pvdhfr gene at the amino acid positions 13, 33, 57, 58, 61, 117, and 173, and that of the pvdhps gene at the positions 383 and 553 were analyzed by nested PCR-RFLP. Results suggest diverse polymorphic patterns of pvdhfr alone as well as the combination patterns with pvdhps mutant alleles in P. vivax isolates collected from the 3 endemic countries in Asia. All samples carried mutant combination alleles of pvdhfr and pvdhps. The most prevalent combination alleles found in samples from the Philippines and Bangladesh were triple mutant pvdhfr combined with single mutant pvdhps allele and triple mutant pvdhfr combined with double wild-type pvdhps alleles, respectively. Those collected from Nepal were quadruple mutant pvdhfr combined with double wild-type pvdhps alleles. New alternative antifolate drugs which are effective against sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP)-resistant P. vivax are required.

Keyword

Plasmodium vivax; Plasmodium vivax dihydrofolate reductase (pvdhfr); Plasmodium vivax dihydropteroate synthase (pvdhps); malaria; PCR-RFLP; sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP)

MeSH Terms

Amino Acid Sequence
Bangladesh
Base Sequence
Dihydropteroate Synthase/*genetics
Humans
Malaria, Vivax/*parasitology
Molecular Sequence Data
Nepal
Philippines
Plasmodium vivax/*enzymology/*genetics/isolation & purification
*Polymorphism, Genetic
Tetrahydrofolate Dehydrogenase/*genetics
Dihydropteroate Synthase
Tetrahydrofolate Dehydrogenase