Combination of Cpb-Hsp70 typing methods reveals genetic divergence between Leishmania infantum strains causing human tegumentary leishmaniasis in northern Italy and central Spain: a retrospective study
Abstract Background Tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL) caused by Leishmania infantum is an overlooked yet re-emerging disease endemic in Mediterranean Europe. Currently, no standardized molecular surveillance of circulating Leishmania strains is performed in European endemic areas, despite the potential...
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BMC
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Infectious Diseases of Poverty |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40249-025-01309-5 |
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| author | Tommaso Gritti Carmen Chicharro Eugenia Carrillo Jose Carlos Solana Javier Moreno Elena Carra Margherita Ortalli Sara Morselli Valeria Gaspari Margherita Zanazzi Tiziana Lazzarotto Gianluca Rugna Stefania Varani |
| author_facet | Tommaso Gritti Carmen Chicharro Eugenia Carrillo Jose Carlos Solana Javier Moreno Elena Carra Margherita Ortalli Sara Morselli Valeria Gaspari Margherita Zanazzi Tiziana Lazzarotto Gianluca Rugna Stefania Varani |
| author_sort | Tommaso Gritti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL) caused by Leishmania infantum is an overlooked yet re-emerging disease endemic in Mediterranean Europe. Currently, no standardized molecular surveillance of circulating Leishmania strains is performed in European endemic areas, despite the potential public health implications of parasite biodiversity. This study aims to characterize parasite population haplogroups causing TL in two active endemic areas in southern Europe, i.e. Bologna (northern Italy) and Fuenlabrada (central Spain). Methods In this retrospective study, we typed 87 L. infantum samples from TL cases in the areas of Bologna and Fuenlabrada; these areas hosted the main European foci of human TL occurring in the last 15 years. Two Leishmania genomic typing targets were used: the heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) and the cysteine peptidase b (Cpb). Simpson’s index was used to calculate the discriminatory power of the used typing methods. Results Typing results depicted the presence of a heterogeneous parasite population circulating in Bologna with two main haplogroups, i.e. Hsp70(A)_Cpb(F) (n = 7, 30.4%) and Hsp70(G)_Cpb(E/F) (n = 7, 30.4%), differing from the reference L. infantum strain JPCM5 haplogroup and partially overlapping with L. donovani lineages. Among the samples from Fuenlabrada, n = 19 samples were typed by both targets, revealing a homogeneous population expressing Hsp70(A) and Cpb(E), matching the JPCM5 reference strain haplogroup. Overall, the Cpb typing method exhibited higher discrimination power as compared to the Hsp70 method (Simpson’s index of diversity, P-value < 0.05). Conclusions Our findings show differences among L. infantum populations causing TL in two southern European epidemiological foci of human leishmaniasis and support the recent discovery of L. infantum/L.donovani hybrid strains circulating in northern Italy. These results underscore the critical need to identify the circulating Leishmania strains in endemic areas and assess their potential public health implications in active foci. Graphical Abstract |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-06e6ee13b4854664962f6da81f27d70a |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2049-9957 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
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| series | Infectious Diseases of Poverty |
| spelling | doaj-art-06e6ee13b4854664962f6da81f27d70a2025-08-20T03:16:47ZengBMCInfectious Diseases of Poverty2049-99572025-05-011411710.1186/s40249-025-01309-5Combination of Cpb-Hsp70 typing methods reveals genetic divergence between Leishmania infantum strains causing human tegumentary leishmaniasis in northern Italy and central Spain: a retrospective studyTommaso Gritti0Carmen Chicharro1Eugenia Carrillo2Jose Carlos Solana3Javier Moreno4Elena Carra5Margherita Ortalli6Sara Morselli7Valeria Gaspari8Margherita Zanazzi9Tiziana Lazzarotto10Gianluca Rugna11Stefania Varani12Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of BolognaWHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos IIIWHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos IIIWHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos IIIWHO Collaborating Centre for Leishmaniasis, National Centre for Microbiology, Instituto de Salud Carlos IIIIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia RomagnaDepartment of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of BolognaDepartment of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of BolognaUnit of Dermatology, Head and Neck Department, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di BolognaDepartment of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of BolognaDepartment of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of BolognaIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia RomagnaDepartment of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of BolognaAbstract Background Tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL) caused by Leishmania infantum is an overlooked yet re-emerging disease endemic in Mediterranean Europe. Currently, no standardized molecular surveillance of circulating Leishmania strains is performed in European endemic areas, despite the potential public health implications of parasite biodiversity. This study aims to characterize parasite population haplogroups causing TL in two active endemic areas in southern Europe, i.e. Bologna (northern Italy) and Fuenlabrada (central Spain). Methods In this retrospective study, we typed 87 L. infantum samples from TL cases in the areas of Bologna and Fuenlabrada; these areas hosted the main European foci of human TL occurring in the last 15 years. Two Leishmania genomic typing targets were used: the heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) and the cysteine peptidase b (Cpb). Simpson’s index was used to calculate the discriminatory power of the used typing methods. Results Typing results depicted the presence of a heterogeneous parasite population circulating in Bologna with two main haplogroups, i.e. Hsp70(A)_Cpb(F) (n = 7, 30.4%) and Hsp70(G)_Cpb(E/F) (n = 7, 30.4%), differing from the reference L. infantum strain JPCM5 haplogroup and partially overlapping with L. donovani lineages. Among the samples from Fuenlabrada, n = 19 samples were typed by both targets, revealing a homogeneous population expressing Hsp70(A) and Cpb(E), matching the JPCM5 reference strain haplogroup. Overall, the Cpb typing method exhibited higher discrimination power as compared to the Hsp70 method (Simpson’s index of diversity, P-value < 0.05). Conclusions Our findings show differences among L. infantum populations causing TL in two southern European epidemiological foci of human leishmaniasis and support the recent discovery of L. infantum/L.donovani hybrid strains circulating in northern Italy. These results underscore the critical need to identify the circulating Leishmania strains in endemic areas and assess their potential public health implications in active foci. Graphical Abstracthttps://doi.org/10.1186/s40249-025-01309-5Leishmania donovaniMolecular epidemiologyCysteine peptidase bHeat shock protein 70Tegumentary leishmaniasis |
| spellingShingle | Tommaso Gritti Carmen Chicharro Eugenia Carrillo Jose Carlos Solana Javier Moreno Elena Carra Margherita Ortalli Sara Morselli Valeria Gaspari Margherita Zanazzi Tiziana Lazzarotto Gianluca Rugna Stefania Varani Combination of Cpb-Hsp70 typing methods reveals genetic divergence between Leishmania infantum strains causing human tegumentary leishmaniasis in northern Italy and central Spain: a retrospective study Infectious Diseases of Poverty Leishmania donovani Molecular epidemiology Cysteine peptidase b Heat shock protein 70 Tegumentary leishmaniasis |
| title | Combination of Cpb-Hsp70 typing methods reveals genetic divergence between Leishmania infantum strains causing human tegumentary leishmaniasis in northern Italy and central Spain: a retrospective study |
| title_full | Combination of Cpb-Hsp70 typing methods reveals genetic divergence between Leishmania infantum strains causing human tegumentary leishmaniasis in northern Italy and central Spain: a retrospective study |
| title_fullStr | Combination of Cpb-Hsp70 typing methods reveals genetic divergence between Leishmania infantum strains causing human tegumentary leishmaniasis in northern Italy and central Spain: a retrospective study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Combination of Cpb-Hsp70 typing methods reveals genetic divergence between Leishmania infantum strains causing human tegumentary leishmaniasis in northern Italy and central Spain: a retrospective study |
| title_short | Combination of Cpb-Hsp70 typing methods reveals genetic divergence between Leishmania infantum strains causing human tegumentary leishmaniasis in northern Italy and central Spain: a retrospective study |
| title_sort | combination of cpb hsp70 typing methods reveals genetic divergence between leishmania infantum strains causing human tegumentary leishmaniasis in northern italy and central spain a retrospective study |
| topic | Leishmania donovani Molecular epidemiology Cysteine peptidase b Heat shock protein 70 Tegumentary leishmaniasis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40249-025-01309-5 |
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