Leishmania donovani: genetic diversity of isolates from Sudan characterized by PCR-based RAPD

Drug unresponsiveness in patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a problem in many endemic areas. This study aimed to determine genetic diversity of Leishmania donovani isolates from a VL endemic area in Sudan as a possible explanation for drug unresponsiveness in some patients. Thirty clinically stibogluconate (SSG)-sensitive isolates were made SSG-unresponsive in vitro by gradually increasing SSG concentrations. The sensitive isolates and their SSG-unresponsive counterparts were typed using mini-circle kDNA and categorized using PCR-RAPD. All the isolates were typed as L. donovani, the resulting PCR-RAPD characterization of the SSG-sensitive isolates gave three distinct primary genotypes while, the SSG-unresponsive isolates showed only a single band. L. donovani isolates from eastern Sudan are diverse; this probably resulted from emergence of new L. donovani strains during epidemics due to the pressure of widespread use of antimonials. In this communication the possible role of isolates diversity in antimonial unresponsiveness and the in vitro changing PCR-RAPD band pattern in SSG-unresponsive strains were discussed.