fa تحقيقي Original Paper <div> <p><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p> <p><strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Background and Objective:</strong> Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease and a health problem in different parts of Iran, especially two cities of Mashhad and Chabahar. Due to morphological similarities of most <em>Leishmania</em> species and difference in reservoirs of <em>L. major</em> and <em>L. tropica</em>, it is necessary to determine the parasite specie to combat the disease. Thus, this study used gene sequencing and genotyping of 70-kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) to differentiate the two species of <em>Leishmania</em>.</p> <p><strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Methods:</strong> In this descriptive-analytical study, microscope slides and cultures were prepared from 43 patients suspected of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Chabahar and Mashhad. PCR was performed after genomic DNA extraction and then PCR products were sequenced and analyzed.</p> <p><strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Results:</strong> Of the 43 patients studied, 32 direct smear and culture (74.4%) were positive and 11 (25.6%) showed negative results, and were therefore excluded from the study. Using HSP70-specific primers, 1962 bp and 1152bp bands were observed for HSP70 of <em>L. major</em> in Chabahar and <em>L. tropica</em> in Mashhad, respectively. Based on the results, there were 18 nucleotide differences between HSP70 of <em>L. major</em> in Chabahar and <em>L. tropica</em> in Mashhad.</p> <p><strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Conclusion:</strong> Due to the morphological similarities between <em>Leishmania</em> species and inability to differentiate species through parasitological methods, the HSP70 gene can be used for identification of the species, and prevention and treatment of the disease.</p> <p><strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </strong></p> </div> HSP70 Gene, Leishmania major, Leishmania tropica, Chabahar, Mashhad. 41 45 http://mlj.goums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-393&slc_lang=fa&sid=1 Mansour Dabirzadeh abbaspashaie41@gmail.com 100319475328460011346 100319475328460011346 No School of Medicine, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran Abbas Pashaie Neghadeh abbaspashaie41@gmail.com 100319475328460011347 100319475328460011347 Yes School of Medicine, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran Tahere Davoodi 100319475328460011348 100319475328460011348 No School of Medicine, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran Mohammad Hashemi 100319475328460011349 100319475328460011349 No School of Medicine, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran