Browsing by Author "Angulo, Jenniffer"
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Item A Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism of αVβ3 Integrin Is Associated with the Andes Virus Infection Susceptibility(2019) Martínez-Valdebenito, Constanza; Angulo, Jenniffer; Corre, Nicole Le; Marco, Claudia; Vial, Cecilia; Miquel, Juan Francisco; Cerda, Jaime; Mertz, Gregory; Vial, Pablo; Lopez-Lastra, Marcelo; Ferrés, MarcelaThe Andes Orthohantavirus (ANDV), which causes the hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome, enters cells via integrins, and a change from leucine to proline at residue 33 in the PSI domain (L33P), impairs ANDV recognition. We assessed the association between this human polymorphism and ANDV infection. We defined susceptible and protective genotypes as “TT” (coding leucine) and “CC” (coding proline), respectively. TT was present at a rate of 89.2% (66/74) among the first cohort of ANDV cases and at 60% (63/105) among exposed close-household contacts, who remained uninfected (p < 0.05). The protective genotype (CC) was absent in all 85 ANDV cases, in both cohorts, and was present at 11.4% of the exposed close-household contacts who remained uninfected. Logistic regression modeling for risk of infection had an OR of 6.2–12.6 (p < 0.05) in the presence of TT and well-known ANDV risk activities. Moreover, an OR of 7.3 was obtained when the TT condition was analyzed for two groups exposed to the same environmental risk. Host genetic background was found to have an important role in ANDV infection susceptibility, in the studied population.Item Molecular Description of a Novel Orientia Species Causing Scrub Typhus in Chile(2020-09) Abarca, Katia; Martínez-Valdebenito, Constanza; Angulo, Jenniffer; Jiang, Ju; Farris, Christina M.; Richards, Allen L.; Acosta-Jamett, Gerardo; Weitzel, ThomasScrub typhus is a potentially fatal rickettsiosis caused by Orientia species intracellular bacteria of the genus Orientia. Although considered to be restricted to the Asia Pacific region, scrub typhus has recently been discovered in southern Chile. We analyzed Orientia gene sequences of 16S rRNA (rrs) and 47-kDa (htrA) from 18 scrub typhus patients from Chile. Sequences were ≥99.7% identical among the samples for both amplified genes. Their diversity was 3.1%–3.5% for rrs and 11.2%–11.8% for htrA compared with O. tsusugamushi and 3.0% for rrs and 14.8% for htrA compared with Candidatus Orientia chuto. Phylogenetic analyses of both genes grouped the specimens from Chile in a different clade from other Orientia species. Our results indicate that Orientia isolates from Chile constitute a novel species, which, until they are cultivated and fully characterized, we propose to designate as Candidatus Orientia chiloensis, after the Chiloé Archipelago where the pathogen was identified.Item Mother-to-Child Transmission of Andes Virus through Breast Milk, Chile(2020-08) Ferrés, Marcela; Martínez-Valdebenito, Constanza; Angulo, Jenniffer; Henríquez, Carolina; Vera-Otaróla, Jorge; Vergara, María José; Pérez, Javier; Fernández, Jorge; Sotomayor, Viviana; Valdés, María Francisca; González-Candia, Diego; Tischler, Nicole D.; Vial, Cecilia; Vial, Pablo; Mertz, Gregory; Le Corre, NicoleAndes virus (ANDV) is the only hantavirus transmitted between humans through close contact. We detected the genome and proteins of ANDV in breast milk cells from an infected mother in Chile who transmitted the virus to her child, suggesting gastrointestinal infection through breast milk as a route of ANDV person-to-person transmission.