Virulence Plasmids ofIsolates From Cuban Patients With AIDS.

Abstract

is an animal pathogen and zoonotic human opportunistic pathogen associated with immunosuppressive conditions. The pathogenicity ofis linked to three animal host-associated virulence plasmids encoding a family of "Virulence Associated Proteins" (VAPs). Here, the PCR-based TRAVAP molecular typing system for thevirulence plasmids was applied to 26strains isolated between 2010 and 2016 at the Institute of Tropical Medicine "Pedro Kourí," Cuba, from individuals living with HIV/AIDS. TRAVAP detects 4 gene markers,common to the three virulence plasmids, and, andspecific to each of the host-associated plasmid types (equine pVAPA, porcine pVAPB, and ruminant pVAPN). Of the 26 isolates, six were positive to the(porcine-type) marker, 4 (15.4%) to the(equine-type) marker, and 1 (3.8%) to the(ruminant-type) marker. Most of the isolates 14 (53.8%) were negative to all TRAVAP markers, suggesting they lacked a virulence plasmid. To our knowledge, this work is the first to report the molecular characterization ofisolates from Cuba. Our findings provide insight into the zoonotic origin ofinfections in people and the potential dispensability of the virulence plasmid in immunosuppressed patients.