Arghavan Vafafar - Instructor, Department of Parasitology and Mycology‚ School of Medicine‚ Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz‚ Iran
Naser Ziaali - Associate Professor, Research Center for Tropical and Infectious Diseases, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
Razieh Tavakoli - Assistant Professor, Department of Parasitology and Mycology‚ School of Medicine‚ Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman‚ Iran
Mohammad Rayani - Assistant Professor, The Persian Gulf Tropical Medicine Research Center, The Persian Gulf Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran
Gholamreza Hatam - Professor, Basic Sciences in Infectious Diseases Research Center‚ Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz‚ Iran

Background: Trichomonas vaginalis is an anaerobic flagellated protozoan which is responsible for human urogenital infections. Several zymodemes of T. vaginalis have been reported from various parts of the worlds on the basis of isoenzyme patterns. This study was conducted to characterize the isolated organisms of T. vaginalis from HIV patients using isoenzyme electrophoresis in Fars and Kerman provinces, southeast Iran.Methods: Eighteen mass cultivated isolates of T. vaginalis in the modified TYI-S-۳۳ medium were analyzed using isoenzyme electrophoresis. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) of five different enzyme systems were used to characterize T. vaginalis isolates: (i) Glucose-۶-phosphate dehydrogenase (G۶PD), (ii) Glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI), (iii) Malate dehydrogenase (MDH), (iv) Malic enzyme (ME), and (v) Phosphoglucomutase (PGM). Results: MDH, GPI, PGM, and ME enzyme systems showed a homogeneity and detected an identical enzyme pattern in all isolates. Meanwhile, G۶PD revealed two different enzyme patterns. The isoenzyme electrophoretic profiles divided ۱۸ T. vaginalis isolates into two zymodemes. Zymodeme ۱ contained Shiraz isolates and zymodeme ۲ contained Kerman isolates.Conclusion:The polymorphism of Iranian human isolates of T. vaginalis could be assessed by biochemical study using appropriate enzyme systems. Isoenzyme analysis is a promising method for the characterization of T. vaginalis. New molecular studies with increased number of enzyme loci and genetic markers are suggested to classify more zymodemes of Trichomonas in Iran.

Trichomonas vaginalis, HIV, Isoenzyme Electrophoresis, Zymodeme