Association between an Emerging Disseminated form of Leishmaniasis and Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis Strain Polymorphisms

Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis causes three main types of American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL), localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), mucosal leishmaniasis (ML), and disseminated leishmaniasis (DL). All forms are observed among individuals of Corte de Pedra, Brazil. We previously used random amplified markers to identify a multiclonal population among L. (V.) braziliensis isolates from ATL patients, defining parasite clades associated with different clinical syndromes. Herein we compared sequences of random amplified markers to identify genotypes of L. (V.) braziliensis recovered from lesions of CL, ML, and DL patients. Six polymorphic genomic loci were sequenced from 35 parasite isolates. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertions-deletions (indels) at each locus allowed us to segregate the L. (V.) braziliensis population according to haplotypes. Several SNPs, indels, and haplotypes were significantly associated with an increased risk of DL. Molecular genotyping may provide markers to identify L. (V.) braziliensis strains likely to cause this emerging, hard-to-treat form of ATL.