Purpose

The occurrence of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with repeated ivermectin treatment and sub-optimal responses reported by previous findings is of great concern in Onchocerciasis endemic areas. This study investigated SNPs’ occurrence after 15 years of ivermectin intervention in Onchocerciasis endemic communities in two Local Government Areas of Taraba State, Nigeria.

Methods

Microfilariae samples were collected by skin snip from individuals treated with ivermectin for 10–15 years of annual distribution and preserved in RNAlater^® in a 1.5 ml micro-centrifuge tube. Genomic DNA was extracted from microfilariae and residual skin, amplification in two regions within the β-tubulin gene, sequenced and analyzed for SNPs using Bioinformatics tools.

Results

Three distinct SNP positions: 1183 (T/G), 1188 (T/C) and 1308 (C/T) on the β-tubulin gene on the targeted 1083–1568 bp fragment, associate’s with the ivermectin-treated population. Furthermore, SNPs positions detected in this study are 1730 (A/G) and 1794 (T/G) in the β-tub gene in the 1557–1857 (bp) region. The 1794 (T/G) SNP position (Phe243Val) in the exon within the β-tubulin gene region were observed in this study.

Conclusion

The present study indicates that SNPs are observed in Onchocerca volvulus, thus strengthening the warning that genetic changes could occur in some parasite populations in some ivermectin-treated areas.

中文翻译：

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尼日利亚塔拉巴州伊维菌素治疗社区的盘尾丝虫种群中的单核苷酸多态性协会的 β-微管蛋白同种型 1 基因

目的

在盘尾丝虫病流行地区，与重复伊维菌素治疗相关的单核苷酸多态性 (SNP) 和先前发现报告的次优反应的发生是非常令人担忧的。本研究调查了尼日利亚塔拉巴州两个地方政府区域盘尾丝虫病流行社区中伊维菌素干预 15 年后 SNP 的发生情况。

方法

微丝蚴样本是通过皮肤剪从用伊维菌素处理 10-15 年的个体中收集的，每年分发一次，并保存在 RNAlater ^®中的 1.5 ml 微量离心管中。从微丝蚴和残留皮肤中提取基因组 DNA，在 β-微管蛋白基因内的两个区域进行扩增，使用生物信息学工具对 SNP 进行测序和分析。

结果

三个不同的 SNP 位置：1183 (T/G)、1188 (T/C) 和 1308 (C/T) 在目标 1083-1568 bp 片段上的 β-微管蛋白基因上，与伊维菌素处理的群体相关。此外，在本研究中检测到的 SNP 位置是 1557-1857 (bp) 区域的 β-tub 基因中的 1730 (A/G) 和 1794 (T/G)。在本研究中观察到 β-微管蛋白基因区域内外显子中的 1794 (T/G) SNP 位置 (Phe243Val)。

结论

本研究表明，在盘尾丝虫中观察到 SNP ，从而加强了对伊维菌素处理地区的某些寄生虫种群可能发生遗传变化的警告。