Tuberculosis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Tuberculosis, including details on symptoms, causes, treatment, pulmonary, mycobacterium.

Detection and identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in joint biopsy specimens by rpoB PCR cloning and sequencing.

Yun YJ, Lee KH, Haihua L, Ryu YJ, Kim BJ, Lee YH, Baek GH, Kim HJ, Chung MS, Lee MC, Lee SH, Choi IH, Cho TJ, Chang BS, Kook YH

Department of Microbiology and Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National Research Hospital, Korea.

Osteoarticular tuberculosis (OAT) is an extrapulmonary tuberculosis and accounts for 1 to 3% of all tuberculosis cases. We used an rpoB PCR-plasmid TA cloning-sequencing method to detect and identify tubercle bacilli in surgical specimens from patients suspected of having OAT. By comparing the similarities of the rpoB sequences determined with those in GenBank, Mycobacterium tuberculosis was detected in 23 of 43 samples. Three of the 23 positive samples had mutations at codon 531, which are commonly observed in rifampin-resistant M. tuberculosis strains. Our results suggest that the rpoB PCR-TA cloning-sequencing method developed, which detects M. tuberculosis and which simultaneously determines its rifampin susceptibility, can also be used efficiently for the diagnosis of OAT.

Published 6 January 2005 in J Clin Microbiol, 43(1): 174-8.
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