Spatially and Genetically Distinct African Trypanosome Virulence Variants Defined by Host Interferon‐γ Response
Open Access
- 1 December 2007
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in The Journal of Infectious Diseases
- Vol. 196 (11), 1620-1628
- https://doi.org/10.1086/522011
Abstract
We describe 2 spatially distinct foci of human African trypansomiasis in eastern Uganda. The Tororo and Soroti foci of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense infection were genetically distinct as characterized by 6 microsatellite and 1 minisatellite polymorphic markers and were characterized by differences in disease progression and host-immune response. In particular, infections with the Tororo genotype exhibited an increased frequency of progression to and severity of the meningoencephalitic stage and higher plasma interferon (IFN)-γ concentration, compared with those with the Soroti genotype. We propose that the magnitude of the systemic IFN-γ response determines the time at which infected individuals develop central nervous system infection and that this is consistent with the recently described role of IFN-γ in facilitating blood-brain barrier transmigration of trypanosomes in an experimental model of infection. The identification of trypanosome isolates with differing disease progression phenotypes provides the first field-based genetic evidence for virulence variants in T. brucei rhodesiense.Keywords
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