Absence of Plasmodium falciparum K13 Propeller Domain Polymorphisms among Field Isolates Collected from the Brazilian Amazon Basin between 1984 and 2011

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2018 Dec;99(6):1504-1507. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.18-0554. Epub 2018 Sep 27.

Abstract

Artemisinin resistance, presently confined to Southeast Asia and associated with mutations in the Plasmodium falciparum K13 (PfK13) propeller domain, represents a serious threat to global malaria control. This study aimed to provide baseline information for future artemisinin resistance surveillance, by analyzing the PfK13 propeller domain in P. falciparum field isolates collected from the Brazilian Amazon Basin between 1984 and 2011. A total of 152 P. falciparum mono-infections were assessed, of which 118 (78%) were collected before and 34 (22%) after the introduction of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) in 2006. An 849-base pair fragment encoding the PfK13 propeller was amplified by nested polymerase chain reaction and sequenced in both directions. The sequences were compared with the reference sequence of P. falciparum 3D7. All samples showed wild-type sequences, thus, no mutations were observed. The results are in agreement with other recent reports and do not provide evidence for presence of PfK13 propeller domain polymorphisms associated with artemisinin resistance among P. falciparum field isolates in the Brazilian Amazon Basin neither before nor after the implementation of ACT.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antimalarials / therapeutic use
  • Artemether / therapeutic use
  • Artesunate / therapeutic use
  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • Drug Combinations
  • Drug Resistance / genetics*
  • Epidemiological Monitoring
  • Gene Expression
  • Genetic Markers
  • Genotyping Techniques
  • Humans
  • Kelch Repeat*
  • Malaria, Falciparum / drug therapy
  • Malaria, Falciparum / epidemiology*
  • Malaria, Falciparum / parasitology
  • Mefloquine / therapeutic use
  • Molecular Epidemiology
  • Plasmodium falciparum / drug effects
  • Plasmodium falciparum / genetics*
  • Plasmodium falciparum / isolation & purification
  • Polymorphism, Genetic
  • Protozoan Proteins / genetics*
  • Quinine / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Antimalarials
  • Drug Combinations
  • Genetic Markers
  • Protozoan Proteins
  • Artesunate
  • Quinine
  • Artemether
  • Mefloquine