Direct application of variable number tandem repeats polymerase chain reaction in clinical samples obtained from patients with meningococcal disease

Konstantinos Kesanopoulos; Georgina Tzanakaki; Maria Sioumala; Jenny Kourea-Kremastinou

doi:10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2008.05.015

Direct application of variable number tandem repeats polymerase chain reaction in clinical samples obtained from patients with meningococcal disease

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2010 Jan;66(1):124-7. doi: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2008.05.015. Epub 2008 Jul 21.

Authors

Konstantinos Kesanopoulos¹, Georgina Tzanakaki, Maria Sioumala, Jenny Kourea-Kremastinou

Affiliation

¹ National Meningitis Reference Laboratory, National School of Public Health, 11522 Athens, Greece.

PMID: 18640804
DOI: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2008.05.015

Abstract

A nested variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was developed for the direct typing of meningococcal PCR-positive clinical samples. The system was evaluated on a panel of 43 clinical samples and isolates positive for Neisseria meningitidis. The results revealed that VNTR-PCR can be used directly in clinical samples, allowing fine typing of N. meningitidis.

MeSH terms

Humans
Meningococcal Infections / microbiology*
Minisatellite Repeats / genetics*
Neisseria meningitidis / classification*
Neisseria meningitidis / genetics
Phylogeny
Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*
Species Specificity