Detection of &lt;i&gt;Entamoeba histolytica&lt;/i&gt; DNA in the Saliva of Amoebic Liver Abscess Patients Who Received Prior Treatment with Metronidazole

Krishna Khairnar,Subhash Chandra Parija

doi:10.3329/jhpn.v26i4.1883

Abstract

Saliva is an easily-accessible and a non-invasive clinical specimen alternate to blood and liver pus. An attempt was made to detect Entamoeba histolytica DNA released in the saliva of amoebic liver abscess (ALA) patients by applying 16S-like rRNA gene-based nested multiplex polymerase chain reaction (NM-PCR). The NM-PCR detected E. histolytica DNA in the saliva of eight (28.6%) of 28 ALA patients. The NM-PCR result was negative for E. histolytica DNA in the saliva of all the eight ALA patients who were tested prior to treatment with metronidazole but was positive in the saliva of eight (40%) of 20 ALA patient who were tested after therapy with metronidazole. The NM-PCR detected E. histolytica DNA in liver abscess pus of all 28 (100%) patients with ALA. The TechLab E. histolytica II enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was positive for E. histolytica Gal/GalNAc lectin antigen in the liver abscess pus of 13 (46.4%) of the 28 ALA patients. The indirect haemagglutination (IHA) test was positive for anti-amoebic antibodies in the serum of 22 (78.6%) of the 28 ALA patients and 2 (5.7%) of 35 healthy controls. The present study, for the first time, demonstrates the release of E. histolytica DNA in the saliva of ALA patients by applying NM-PCR.

Highlights

The use of saliva as a diagnostic fluid has been increasingly reported worldwide in the last decade
The indirect haemagglutination (IHA) test was positive for anti-amoebic antibodies in the serum of 22 (78.6%) of the 28 amoebic liver abscess (ALA) patients and two (5.7%) of 35 healthy controls
The TechLab E. histolytica II enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test was positive for E. histolytica Gal/GalNAc lectin antigen in the liver abscess pus of 13 (46.4%) of the 28 ALA patients

Summary

Introduction

The use of saliva as a diagnostic fluid has been increasingly reported worldwide in the last decade. Saliva was used as a clinical specimen for antibody detection in the diagnosis of infectious diseases. Detection of salivary antibody was found to be useful for the diagnosis of bacterial infections caused by Helicobacter pylori, Shigella, and Borrelia burgdorferi [2,3,4] and various viral infections, such as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, measles, Subsequently, saliva has been used for the detection of antigen in the diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia [16], hepatitis B virus, measles, mumps, and rubella [17,18,19,20]. The reports on the use of saliva for the detection of DNA for the diagnosis of infectious diseases, are limited [22,23,24,25,26].

Methods

Results

Conclusion