Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1996 Nov;34(11):2835–2837. doi: 10.1128/jcm.34.11.2835-2837.1996

A microsporidian isolated from an AIDS patient corresponds to Encephalitozoon cuniculi III, originally isolated from domestic dogs.

E S Didier 1, G S Visvesvara 1, M D Baker 1, L B Rogers 1, D C Bertucci 1, M A De Groote 1, C R Vossbrinck 1
PMCID: PMC229415  PMID: 8897194

Abstract

The ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of a recently cultured human Encephalitozoon cuniculi isolate was analyzed by gene amplification and DNA sequencing. Restriction endonuclease digestion (FokI) and double-stranded DNA heteroduplex mobility shift analysis were performed to determine their utility for strain differentiation. The human E. cuniculi isolate was identical to E. cuniculi III, which had been isolated only from domestic dogs until now. The patient providing the isolate owned a pet dog, but no microsporidia were detected in the pet's urine.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (537.6 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. De Groote M. A., Visvesvara G., Wilson M. L., Pieniazek N. J., Slemenda S. B., daSilva A. J., Leitch G. J., Bryan R. T., Reves R. Polymerase chain reaction and culture confirmation of disseminated Encephalitozoon cuniculi in a patient with AIDS: successful therapy with albendazole. J Infect Dis. 1995 May;171(5):1375–1378. doi: 10.1093/infdis/171.5.1375. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Deplazes P., Mathis A., Baumgartner R., Tanner I., Weber R. Immunologic and molecular characteristics of Encephalitozoon-like microsporidia isolated from humans and rabbits indicate that Encephalitozoon cuniculi is a zoonotic parasite. Clin Infect Dis. 1996 Mar;22(3):557–559. doi: 10.1093/clinids/22.3.557. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Didier E. S., Didier P. J., Friedberg D. N., Stenson S. M., Orenstein J. M., Yee R. W., Tio F. O., Davis R. M., Vossbrinck C., Millichamp N. Isolation and characterization of a new human microsporidian, Encephalitozoon hellem (n. sp.), from three AIDS patients with keratoconjunctivitis. J Infect Dis. 1991 Mar;163(3):617–621. doi: 10.1093/infdis/163.3.617. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Didier E. S., Rogers L. B., Orenstein J. M., Baker M. D., Vossbrinck C. R., Van Gool T., Hartskeerl R., Soave R., Beaudet L. M. Characterization of Encephalitozoon (Septata) intestinalis isolates cultured from nasal mucosa and bronchoalveolar lavage fluids of two AIDS patients. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 1996 Jan-Feb;43(1):34–43. doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1996.tb02470.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Didier E. S., Vossbrinck C. R., Baker M. D., Rogers L. B., Bertucci D. C., Shadduck J. A. Identification and characterization of three Encephalitozoon cuniculi strains. Parasitology. 1995 Nov;111(Pt 4):411–421. doi: 10.1017/s0031182000065914. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hollister W. S., Canning E. U., Colbourn N. I., Aarons E. J. Encephalitozoon cuniculi isolated from the urine of an AIDS patient, which differs from canine and murine isolates. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 1995 Jul-Aug;42(4):367–372. doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1995.tb01595.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hollister W. S., Canning E. U., Colbourn N. I., Curry A., Lacey C. J. Characterization of Encephalitozoon hellem (Microspora) isolated from the nasal mucosa of a patient with AIDS. Parasitology. 1993 Nov;107(Pt 4):351–358. doi: 10.1017/s003118200006769x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hollister W. S., Canning E. U., Weidner E., Field A. S., Kench J., Marriott D. J. Development and ultrastructure of Trachipleistophora hominis n.g., n.sp. after in vitro isolation from an AIDS patient and inoculation into athymic mice. Parasitology. 1996 Jan;112(Pt 1):143–154. doi: 10.1017/s0031182000065185. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Katiyar S. K., Visvesvara G. S., Edlind T. D. Comparisons of ribosomal RNA sequences from amitochondrial protozoa: implications for processing, mRNA binding and paromomycin susceptibility. Gene. 1995 Jan 11;152(1):27–33. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(94)00677-k. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Pakes S. P., Shadduck J. A., Cali A. Fine structure of Encephalitozoon cuniculi from rabbits, mice and hamsters. J Protozool. 1975 Nov;22(4):481–488. doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1975.tb05213.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Shadduck J. A., Greeley E. Microsporidia and human infections. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1989 Apr;2(2):158–165. doi: 10.1128/cmr.2.2.158. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Shadduck J. A. Nosema cuiculi: in vitro isolation. Science. 1969 Oct 24;166(3904):516–517. doi: 10.1126/science.166.3904.516. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Shadduck J. A., Pakes S. P. Encephalitozoonosis (nosematosis) and toxoplasmosis. Am J Pathol. 1971 Sep;64(3):657–672. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Soto D., Sukumar S. Improved detection of mutations in the p53 gene in human tumors as single-stranded conformation polymorphs and double-stranded heteroduplex DNA. PCR Methods Appl. 1992 Aug;2(1):96–98. doi: 10.1101/gr.2.1.96. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Vossbrinck C. R., Baker M. D., Didier E. S., Debrunner-Vossbrinck B. A., Shadduck J. A. Ribosomal DNA sequences of Encephalitozoon hellem and Encephalitozoon cuniculi: species identification and phylogenetic construction. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 1993 May-Jun;40(3):354–362. doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1993.tb04928.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Weber R., Bryan R. T., Schwartz D. A., Owen R. L. Human microsporidial infections. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1994 Oct;7(4):426–461. doi: 10.1128/cmr.7.4.426. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES