SummaryHuman leishmaniasis, both visceral and cutaneous, and canine leishmaniasis have been reported in Turkey for centuries. However, the advent of new diagnostic tools during the last 30 years has led to the recognition that leishmaniasis is an important public health problem throughout the country. In most disease foci both canine and human leishmaniases exist together and identification of parasite species causing these diseases is a pre-requisite for understanding disease epidemiology. A total of 109 samples obtained from human and canine leishmaniasis cases were examined using internal transcribed spacer 1 PCR followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Our results indicate that two species, Leishmania tropica and Leishmania infantum, are primarily responsible for cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis, respectively, in Turkey. However, a new focus of human cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. infantum in Hatay region is described. This finding further stresses the importance of Leishmania species molecular characterization in prescribing appropriate therapy and understanding the disease's transmission in different endemic foci.

Recent surveys investigating the molecular biology of Giardia lamblia revealed two distinct assemblages with different clinical outcomes. However, there is not a universal compromise about the clinical effects of each assemblage, warranting further studies. Here, we report the results of the first analyses of the assemblages of G. lamblia in Manisa province located in western Turkey, together with their relationships with the symptoms and DNA sequence analyses of the PCR products. DNA samples were isolated from the stools of 63 patients infected with G. lamblia and 54 DNA samples, amplified successfully with PCR, were digested with the enzyme Xho I for RFLP. Thirty-eight of 54 samples (70.4%) were found to be in Assemblage A, while the remaining 16 samples (29.6%) were found to be in Assemblage B. The number of female patients was found significantly higher in Assemblage B (P=0.18). There was a statistically significant relationship between the occurrence of both abdominal pain and diarrhea and Assemblage B (chi-square, 10.52; P<0.05). No other statistically significant relationship was detected between the assemblages and neither with the symptoms nor with the age groups of the patients. The comparison of the DNA sequences of the PCR products from two assemblage B (one subtype B1 and one B) and one assemblage A samples both with each other and with other DNA sequences in the NCBI website by multialignment analyses, revealed specific regions for assemblages B (B1-B) and A on tpi gene region. Further studies with more patients are required to assess these initial results. Now, our aim is to design a probe for tpi gene region to set up a real-time PCR assay that is easier to conduct and requiring shorter time for the analyses.

SummaryRecent surveys investigating the molecular biology of Giardia lamblia revealed two distinct assemblages with different clinical outcomes. However, there is not a universal compromise about the clinical effects of each assemblage, warranting further studies. Here, we report the results of the first analyses of the assemblages of G. lamblia in Manisa province located in western Turkey, together with their relationships with the symptoms and DNA sequence analyses of the PCR products. DNA samples were isolated from the stools of 63 patients infected with G. lamblia and 54 DNA samples, amplified successfully with PCR, were digested with the enzyme Xho I for RFLP. Thirty-eight of 54 samples (70.4%) were found to be in Assemblage A, while the remaining 16 samples (29.6%) were found to be in Assemblage B. The number of female patients was found significantly higher in Assemblage B (P=0.18). There was a statistically significant relationship between the occurrence of both abdominal pain and diarrhea and Assemblage B (chi-square, 10.52; P<0.05). No other statistically significant relationship was detected between the assemblages and neither with the symptoms nor with the age groups of the patients. The comparison of the DNA sequences of the PCR products from two assemblage B (one subtype B1 and one B) and one assemblage A samples both with each other and with other DNA sequences in the NCBI website by multialignment analyses, revealed specific regions for assemblages B (B1-B) and A on tpi gene region. Further studies with more patients are required to assess these initial results. Now, our aim is to design a probe for tpi gene region to set up a real-time PCR assay that is easier to conduct and requiring shorter time for the analyses. Keywords: Giardia lamblia, Diagnosis, PCR, Genotyping, SymptomBir Türk Hasta Kohortunda Giardia lamblia Genotiplendirilmesi: Semptomlar ile Genotipler Arası İlişkinin Araştırılması ÖzetGiardia lamblia ile yapılan moleküler düzeydeki çalışmalar iki farklı genotipin farklı klinik belirtilere sahip olduğunu ortaya çıkarmıştır. Bununla birlikte, hangi genotipin ne tür klinik belirtilere neden olduğuna dair henüz kesin bulgular elde edilmiş değildir. Bu araştırmada Türkiye'nin Manisa yöresinden elde edilen G. lamblia izolatları polimeraz zincir reaksiyonu (PZR) ve sonrasında DNA dizi analizi yöntemleriyle araştırılmış ve saptanan genotipler ile hastalardaki klinik semptomlar arasındaki ilişkiler incelenmiştir. Toplam 63 hastadan DNA örnekleri izole edilmiş ve bunların 54'üne Xho I restriksiyon enzimi kullanılarak RFLP analizi uygulanmıştır. Sonuçlar incelendiğinde, 54 örneğin 38'inin (%70.37) A, 16'sının ise (%29.63) B genotipine ait olduğu belirlenmiştir. Kadın hasta sayısının B genotipinde anlamlı düzeyde daha fazla olduğu (p=0.18), ayrıca hastalarda birlikte bulunan karın ağrısı ve ishal yakınması ile G. lamblia B genotipi arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir ilişki olduğu tespit edilmiştir (ki-kare testi, 10.52; P<0.05). Hastaların yaşı ya da yakınmaları ile G. lamblia genotipleri...