Abstract:
Plasmodium falciparum infections are frequently composed of a mixture of
different strains that exhibit significant different genotypes. Three highly polymorphic
genes of the merozoite surface protein 1 and 2 (MSP1 and MSP2) and the glutaminerich
protein (GLURP) have always been used to genotype P. falciparum by nested
polymerase chain reaction (nested PCR). Three main disadvantages of nested PCR are
an inability to detect nucleotide sequence polymorphisms, a diminished sensitivity at
low parasite densities, and poor resolution at high parasitemia. In this study,
Heteroduplex Tracking Assay (HTA) was developed to genotype the MSP1 gene of P.
falciparum. Previously determined for their allelic type by nested PCR, four DNA
samples were selected for generation of four recombinant clones. The AF63, AF22,
AF42 and MHP 1452 clones, which are the K1-, MAD20-, RO33-, and K1-type of the
block 2 MSP1 sequences, were used as either probes and known MSP1 sequence
controls in HTA. PCR with minor modifications was used to amplify the block 2
MSP1 gene. The PCR products were re-annealed with the radio labeled probes and the
prominent heteroduplex bands were defined as different genotypes of P. falciparum
infection. The number of these distinct bands, which is known as the multiplicity of
infection (MOI), reflects the number of genotypes in each isolate. Mean of MOI
determined from 39 samples was 1.92 + 0.13. Thirteen samples (33.3%) had one
genotype, 18 samples (46.2%) had two genotypes, 6 samples (15.4%) had three
genotypes, and 2 samples (5.1%) had four genotypes. In addition to identification of
genetic diversity, HTA was also applied to distinguish recrudescence from re-infection
in 17 paired admission and recrudescent samples. It was found that 10 out of 17 pairs
(59%) showed true recrudescence since recrudescent samples contained identical
heteroduplex bands or a subset of heteroduplex bands in the admission samples. Seven
cases (41%) might have resulted from both recrudescence and re-infection because the
appearances of new heteroduplex bands imply either new infection or the undetectable
genotype at admission. This study is the first to apply HTA to identify genetic
diversity of P. falciparum infections and also to identify recrudescence and reinfection.