Abstract
The rifampin resistance of Mycobacterium leprae is due to missense mutations in the rpoB gene encoding the beta-subunit of the essential enzyme RNA polymerase. A rapid and very simple method has been developed to detect rifampin resistance in small numbers of M. leprae present in biopsies. It involves polymerase chain reaction amplification of a defined region of the rpoB gene followed by single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis (PCR-SSCP). The reliability of the method has been tested on a sample of known drug-resistant and susceptible isolates of M. leprae.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Alleles
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Amino Acid Sequence
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Base Sequence
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DNA Primers / chemistry
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DNA, Bacterial / chemistry
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DNA, Single-Stranded / chemistry
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DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / chemistry
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DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / genetics*
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Dapsone / therapeutic use
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Drug Resistance, Microbial / genetics
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Drug Therapy, Combination
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Genes, Bacterial
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Humans
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Leprosy, Lepromatous / drug therapy
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Leprosy, Lepromatous / microbiology*
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Male
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Mutation
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Mycobacterium leprae / drug effects*
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Mycobacterium leprae / genetics
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Polymerase Chain Reaction
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Polymorphism, Genetic
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Prothionamide / therapeutic use
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Recurrence
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Rifampin / pharmacology*
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Rifampin / therapeutic use
Substances
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DNA Primers
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DNA, Bacterial
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DNA, Single-Stranded
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Prothionamide
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Dapsone
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DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases
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Rifampin