Dataset Information

Naegleria fowleri from Pakistan Has Type-2 Genotype.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) is an acute and fulminant CNS infection caused by Naegleria fowleri. Recreational activities and ritual ablution with contaminated warm fresh water are the main reason of PAM. Pakistan ranked the second most affected country, where most of the PAM incidences were reported from Karachi, Pakistan.

Methods

In May, 2019, a 28-yr-old suspected PAM patient came to the Imam Zain-Ul-Abdin Hospital, Karachi. Biochemical and cytological investigations of patient's CSF were carried out at Karachi Diagnostic Center and Molecular Biology Lab. Sequencing of Naegleria sp. specific (ITS) primer-based amplicons was performed from both patient's CSF and water samples followed by multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic studies.

Results

Biochemical and cytological investigations of patient's CSF showed 5 mg/dl glucose, 240 mg/dl total protein and 2260/mm³ TLC suggesting acute meningoencephalitis. PCR-based analyses of patient's CSF and his residential tap water samples using Naegleria sp. specific (ITS) and N. fowleri specific primers revealed the presence of N. fowleri DNA. Nucleotide sequences of ITS primer-based amplicons from both patient's CSF and water samples were submitted in GenBank under the accession numbers MT726981.1 and MT726226.1, respectively. According to phylogenetic analysis, N. fowleri isolate from Pakistan has shown the least node age of seven.

Conclusion

Here, for the very first time in Pakistan, N. fowleri genotype has been identified as type-2. Phylogenetic analysis showed that N. fowleri isolate from Pakistan is among the latest descendants, i.e., evolved later in life.

SUBMITTER: Aurongzeb M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9375727 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan-Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

<i>Naegleria fowleri</i> from Pakistan Has Type-2 Genotype.

Aurongzeb Muhammad M Rashid Yasmeen Y Ahmed Naqvi Syed Habib SH Khatoon Ambrina A Abdul Haq Sadia S Azim Mohammad Kamran MK Kaleem Imdad I Bashir Shahid S

Iranian journal of parasitology 20220101 1

<h4>Background</h4>Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) is an acute and fulminant CNS infection caused by <i>Naegleria fowleri</i>. Recreational activities and ritual ablution with contaminated warm fresh water are the main reason of PAM. Pakistan ranked the second most affected country, where most of the PAM incidences were reported from Karachi, Pakistan.<h4>Methods</h4>In May, 2019, a 28-yr-old suspected PAM patient came to the Imam Zain-Ul-Abdin Hospital, Karachi. Biochemical and cytolo ...[more]

PMID: 36046566

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Project description:Infections with the pathogenic free-living amoebae Naegleria fowleri can lead to life-threatening illnesses including catastrophic primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Efficacious treatment options for these infections are lacking and the mortality rate remains >95% in the US. Glycolysis is very important for the infectious trophozoite lifecycle stage and inhibitors of glucose metabolism have been found to be toxic to the pathogen. Recently, human enolase 2 (ENO2) phosphonate inhibitors have been developed as lead agents to treat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). These compounds, which cure GBM in a rodent model, are well-tolerated in mammals because enolase 1 (ENO1) is the predominant isoform used systemically. Here, we describe findings that demonstrate these agents are potent inhibitors of N. fowleri ENO (NfENO) and are lethal to amoebae. In particular, (1-hydroxy-2-oxopiperidin-3-yl) phosphonic acid (HEX) was a potent enzyme inhibitor (IC50 = 0.14 ± 0.04 μM) that was toxic to trophozoites (EC50 = 0.21 ± 0.02 μM) while the reported CC50 was >300 μM. Molecular docking simulation revealed that HEX binds strongly to the active site of NfENO with a binding affinity of -8.6 kcal/mol. Metabolomic studies of parasites treated with HEX revealed a 4.5 to 78-fold accumulation of glycolytic intermediates upstream of NfENO. Last, nasal instillation of HEX increased longevity of amoebae-infected rodents. Two days after infection, animals were treated for 10 days with 3 mg/kg HEX, followed by one week of observation. At the end of the one-week observation, eight of 12 HEX-treated animals remained alive (resulting in an indeterminable median survival time) while one of 12 vehicle-treated rodents remained, yielding a median survival time of 10.9 days. However, intranasal HEX delivery was not curative as brains of six of the eight survivors were positive for amoebae. These findings suggest that HEX requires further evaluation to develop as a lead for treatment of PAM.