AUTHOR=Salazar-Rodríguez Daniel , Aleaga-Santiesteban Yamilé , Iglesias Enrique , Plascencia-Hernández Arturo , Pérez-Gómez Héctor R. , Calderón Enrique J. , Vázquez-Boland José A. , de Armas Yaxsier 

TITLE=Virulence Plasmids of Rhodococcus equi Isolates From Cuban Patients With AIDS

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2021.628239

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2021.628239

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Rhodococcus equi</italic> is an animal pathogen and zoonotic human opportunistic pathogen associated with immunosuppressive conditions. The pathogenicity of <italic>R. equi</italic> is 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 the <italic>R. equi</italic> virulence plasmids was applied to 26 <italic>R. equi</italic> strains 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, <italic>traA</italic> common to the three virulence plasmids, and <italic>vapA, vapB</italic>, and <italic>vapN</italic> specific to each of the host-associated plasmid types (equine pVAPA, porcine pVAPB, and ruminant pVAPN). Of the 26 isolates, six were positive to the <italic>vapB</italic> (porcine-type) marker, 4 (15.4%) to the <italic>vapA</italic> (equine-type) marker, and 1 (3.8%) to the <italic>vapN</italic> (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 of <italic>R. equi</italic> isolates from Cuba. Our findings provide insight into the zoonotic origin of <italic>R. equi</italic> infections in people and the potential dispensability of the virulence plasmid in immunosuppressed patients.</p>