ENCEPHALITOZOON-CUNICULI ISOLATED FROM THE URINE OF AN AIDS PATIENT, WHICH DIFFERS FROM CANINE AND MURINE ISOLATES

A species of Encephalitozoon has been isolated from the urine of a pat ient with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and maintained in vit ro in Madin Darby Canine Kidney cells. When examined by random amplifi ed polymoprhic DNA polymerase chain reaction the new isolate was found to differ from E. hellem and to have amplified products in common wit h murine and canine E. cuniculi. However, it more closely resembled th e canine than the murine isolate. Sodium dodecylsulphate polyacrylamid e gel electrophoresis differentiated between all three isolates off. c uniculi, with a band at 42-45 kDa present in the murine isolate only, bands at 52 kDa present in the canine and human isolates but not the m urine, and a single band at 60 kDa (murine) and 65 kDa (canine) replac ed by two bands at 55 and 70 kDa in the human isolate. The 55 kDa and 70 kDa antigens were also revealed as characteristic bands of the huma n isolate by Western blotting. The study has thus revealed that the sp ecies Encephalitozoon cuniculi is not a homogeneous entity.