Determination of Echinococcus granulosus Antigen B Polymorphism in Human and Animal Isolates From Alborz Province by PCR-SSCP

Echinococcus granulosus is one of the most important pathogens in medicine. This parasite is able to cause a hydatid cyst in humans, which causes various human and financial losses annually.

This study focused on determining the polymorphism of antigen B (AgB) of E. granulosus in the human and animal samples of Alborz province.

In this study, 50 samples of the hydatid cyst fluid (HCF), 10 human samples, and 40 sheep samples were collected, then the DNA was extracted from the samples. During the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process, the corresponding fragment was replicated in the AgB gene. Subsequently, PCR-single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) was performed to investigate genetic diversity.

All 50 isolates used in this study showed the AgB in 350 bp after conducting PCR. In addition, all isolates demonstrated similar band patterns after the PCR-SSCP assay.

In 50 isolates, one banding pattern was observed after PCR-SSCP, while no polymorphism was detected in any of the isolates.