Genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii strain directly from human CSF samples of congenital toxoplasmosis clinical case
Pagliuca, C.; Pastore, G.; Scaglione, E.; Migliucci, A.; Maruotti, G.M.; Cicatiello, A.G.; Salvatore, E.; Picardi, M.; Camilla Sammartino, J.è; Consiglio Buonocore, M.; Martinelli, P.; Iaccarino, E.; Colicchio, R.; Salvatore, P.
New Microbiologica 40(2): 151-154
2017
ISSN/ISBN: 1121-7138 PMID: 28368078 Document Number: 693937
This report describes a case of congenital toxoplasmosis in a newborn in Southern Italy. A pregnant mother had been admitted at the 20th week of her pregnancy on account of pharyngodynia and laterocervical lymphadenopathy. Although serological testing of the mother's serum documented a seroconversion with positive IgG and IgM anti-Toxoplasma antibodies during II trimester, the woman refused to perform prenatal diagnosis for congenital toxoplasmosis. Fetal ultrasound scan already showed mild asymmetrical triventricular hydrocephaly and cerebral calcifications. After birth, real-time PCR on cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples of the newborn showed a positive result for 529bp-repeat element DNA of T. gondii, In addition brain magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography showed a characteristic diffuse brain tissue loss associated with hydrocephalus. For the first time molecular characterization of T. gondii isolate was performed directly from the newborn's CSF samples by using nested-PCR-RFLP of sag-2 and pk1 genes. The PCR-RLFP analysis revealed that the isolate belongs to the clonal type II, the predominant lineage causing human toxoplasmosis, as confirmed by DNA sequencing.