Abstract
Purpose
To stablish if Blastocystis subtypes influences gastrointestinal symptoms.
Methods
Case–control study. We obtained sequencing for Blastocysts subtyping from 13 patients with gastrointestinal symptoms (diarrhea or abdominal pain) and 12 from individuals without symptoms.
Results
12 sequences were from Subtype 2 and one from Subtype 3 in symptomatic individuals and nine samples were from Subtype 1, one from Subtype 2, and two from Subtype 3 in asymptomatic individuals. The prevalence of subtype 2 in symptomatic individuals was vastly different compared to the frequency in asymptomatic individuals (84.6% vs. 16.6%; OR 27.5 95% CI 3.2–233; Fisher exact test p = 0.0010201335). After in vitro culture, 22 isolates were obtained. Significant differences were observed for the 12 isolates from Subtype 2 that get a smaller number of total cells with dominant growth of vacuolar forms, compared with Subtypes 1 and 3, after eight days of culture.
Conclusion
Our results suggest that gastrointestinal symptoms in Colombian individuals with Blastocystis infection depend on the infecting subtype with peculiar phenotypic characteristics in in vitro culture.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Tan KSW (2008) New insights on classification, identification, and clinical relevance of Blastocystis spp. Clin Microbiol Rev 21:639–665. https://doi.org/10.1128/CMR.00022-08
Ramírez JD, Sánchez LV, Bautista DC et al (2014) Blastocystis subtypes detected in humans and animals from Colombia. Infect Genet Evol 22:223–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2013.07.020
Higuera A, Villamizar X, Herrera G et al (2020) Molecular detection and genotyping of intestinal protozoa from different biogeographical regions of Colombia. PeerJ 8:e8554. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8554
Jiménez PA, Jaimes JE, Ramírez JD (2019) A summary of Blastocystis subtypes in North and South America. Parasit Vectors 12:376. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-019-3641-2
Ramírez JD, Flórez C, Olivera M et al (2017) Blastocystis subtyping and its association with intestinal parasites in children from different geographical regions of Colombia. PLoS ONE 12:e0172586. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0172586
DANE. No Title. Censo Nac. Población y Vivienda (2018) 2019.https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/demografia-y-poblacion/censo-nacional-de-poblacion-y-vivenda-2018. Accessed 10 Aug 2019.
Clark CG, Stensvold CR (2016) Blastocystis: isolation, xenic cultivation, and cryopreservation. Current protocols in microbiology. Wiley, Hoboken. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpmc.18
Scanlan PD (2012) Blastocystis: past pitfalls and future perspectives. Trends Parasitol 28:327–334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2012.05.001
Clark CG, van der Giezen M, Alfellani MA et al (2013) Recent developments in blastocystis research. Advances in parasitology. Academic Press, Cambridge, pp 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-407706-5.00001-0
Ajjampur SSR, Tan KSW (2016) Pathogenic mechanisms in Blastocystis spp.—Interpreting results from in vitro and in vivo studies. Parasitol Int 65:772–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.parint.2016.05.007
Stensvold CR, Clark CG (2016) Current status of Blastocystis: a personal view. Parasitol Int 65:763–771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.parint.2016.05.015
de Melo GB, Roldan W, de Malta FM et al (2020) Culture isolation and molecular identification of Blastocystis sp. In Brazilian human isolates: Preliminary results. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo 62:1–5. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1678-9946202062051
Zhang X, Qiao JY, Zhou XJ et al (2007) Morphology and reproductive mode of Blastocystis hominis in diarrhea and in vitro. Parasitol Res 101:43–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-006-0439-x
Acknowledgements
This work was funded by Universidad del Quindío and COLCIENCIAS Grant Number: 111372553376.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Deicy Muñoz-Sánchez: methodology, formal analysis, investigation, and data curation. Jessica Triviño-Valencia: methodology, formal analysis, and investigation. Fabiana Lora-Suarez: conceptualization, methodology, supervision, resources, writing—review and editing. Jorge Enrique Gómez-Marín: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, resources, data curation, writing—review and editing, and supervision.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare having no conflict of interest related with the contents of this manuscript.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Muñoz-Sánchez, D., Triviño-Valencia, J., Lora-Suarez, F. et al. Blastocystis Subtypes and Culture Characteristics of Isolates from Human Stools Related with the Presence of Gastrointestinal Symptoms: A Case–Control Study. Acta Parasit. 66, 1466–1471 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11686-021-00419-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11686-021-00419-y