Culture isolation and molecular identification of Blastocystis sp. in Brazilian human isolates: preliminary results

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: Gessica Baptista de Melo, William Roldan, Fernanda de Mello Malta, Susana Angelica Zevallos Lescano, Vera Lúcia Castilho, Elenice Messias do Nascimento Gonçalves, Fabiana Martins de Paula, Ronaldo Cesar Borges Gryschek
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2020
• Subjects: Blastocystis sp; In vitro culture; Subtypes; Brazil; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/s1678-9946202062051; https://doaj.org/article/3fadb769bae34071aabdbbff95eadf80

ABSTRACT Blastocystis sp. is a protist commonly found in stool samples of humans and animals. Biological and genetic factors of this organism remain controversial. The present study aimed to develop and implement the Blastocystis in vitro culture of Brazilian human isolates for routine use. The fecal isolates (n = 20) were maintained in our laboratory by several passages in Pavlova's medium. Cultures were monitored every 72 h by light microscopy. Genomic DNA was extracted to identify the subtypes (STs). In most isolates, the vacuolar form was prevalent. The amoeboid, granular and cystic forms were observed during in vitro cultivation. STs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 were identified. Our preliminary results show the generation time and forms present in the in vitro culture of Blastocystis subtypes isolated from Brazilian human isolates. Therefore, we emphasize the use of in vitro culture as a tool in future studies for the better understanding of the biological aspects of Blastocystis sp.