Objective: To study the application of gene chip in detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant to rifampin (RFP) and isoniazid (INH).
Methods: Probes were designed and the gene chip was fabricated according to the 30 single nucleotide polymorphisms of 11 mutations on 4 genes associated with RFP and INH resistance. The mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis were detected by gene chip to analyze the resistance to INH and RFP.
Results: 85 of 110 (77.3%) strains resistant to INH and 22 of 30 (73.3%) strains sensitive to INH were detected, while 77 of 94 (81.9%) strains resistant to RFP and 40 of 46 (87.0%) strains sensitive to RFP were detected. The results from the gene-chip detection were consistent with the sequence information.
Conclusion: The gene-chip technology, a fast test with high accuracy, specificity and sensitivity, as shown in our study, is promising in the clinical detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant to INH and RFP.