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Subcutaneous cysticercosis diagnosed by mitochondrial DNA analysis
Author(s) -
Shih YiChin,
Chen ChienMing,
Huang YuHuei,
Liao CheinWei,
Fan ChiaKwung,
Yang ChihHsun
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
international journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-4632
pISSN - 0011-9059
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-4632.2009.04366.x
Subject(s) - cysticercosis , taenia solium , histopathology , mitochondrial dna , pathology , dna sequencing , polymerase chain reaction , medicine , gene , biology , genetics
Background Cysticercosis is caused by the larval stage of the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium . Central nervous system, eyes, skeletal muscle, and subcutaneous tissue are the most frequent sites of involvement. Methods We report a case of subcutaneous larval cestode where no diagnostic histological features such as scolex or bladder wall can be seen on serial sections. Identification of the pathogen was attempted using mitochondrial DNA analysis of the histopathologic specimen. Results Analysis of PCR‐amplified DNA sequences targeting T. solium mitochondrial cox1 gene and cob gene confirmed the diagnosis. Conclusions When characteristic morphology is absent in histopathology specimen, mitochondrial DNA diagnosis is a powerful tool for a definitive diagnosis of cysticercosis. The DNA diagnosis using such histopathologic specimens would also be applicable for identification of other parasites as extensive DNA sequence data are currently available.