SETTING: A tertiary care and research institution in Italy. BACKGROUND: Small DNA fragments from cells dying throughout the body have been detected in urine (transrenal DNA [Tr-DNA]). OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that Mycobacterium tuberculosis Tr-DNA could be detected in the urine of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients. DESIGN: We studied 43 patients with culture-confirmed pulmonary TB with no evidence of extra-pulmonary involvement, 10 patients with pulmonary diseases other than TB and 13 healthy controls. DNA was extracted from urine and analysed by semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: M. tuberculosis-specific sequences were found in the urine of 34 of 43 (79%) TB patients studied, whereas all controls were negative. The transrenal nature of M. tuberculosis DNA was demonstrated by two lines of evidence: first, separate analysis of supernatants and sediments from eight of the study patients found seven positive supernatants but only two matched positive sediments. Second, M. tuberculosis-specific sequences were amplified by semi-nested PCR with primers designed for short but not large amplicons. CONCLUSION: Small M. tuberculosis DNA fragments may be detected in the urine of a significant proportion of patients with pulmonary TB. If these observations are confirmed by larger studies, Tr-DNA technology could represent a new approach for detecting pulmonary M. tuberculosis infection.
SETTING: A tertiary care and research institution in Italy. BACKGROUND: Small DNA fragments from cells dying throughout the body have been detected in urine (transrenal DNA [Tr-DNA]). OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that Mycobacterium tuberculosis Tr-DNA could be detected in the urine of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients. DESIGN: We studied 43 patients with culture-confirmed pulmonary TB with no evidence of extra-pulmonary involvement, 10 patients with pulmonary diseases other than TB and 13 healthy controls. DNA was extracted from urine and analysed by semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS:M. tuberculosis-specific sequences were found in the urine of 34 of 43 (79%) TB patients studied, whereas all controls were negative. The transrenal nature of M. tuberculosis DNA was demonstrated by two lines of evidence: first, separate analysis of supernatants and sediments from eight of the study patients found seven positive supernatants but only two matched positive sediments. Second, M. tuberculosis-specific sequences were amplified by semi-nested PCR with primers designed for short but not large amplicons. CONCLUSION: Small M. tuberculosis DNA fragments may be detected in the urine of a significant proportion of patients with pulmonary TB. If these observations are confirmed by larger studies, Tr-DNA technology could represent a new approach for detecting pulmonary M. tuberculosis infection.
Authors: Ines Labugger; Jan Heyckendorf; Stefan Dees; Emilia Häussinger; Christian Herzmann; Thomas A Kohl; Elvira Richter; Eric Rivera-Milla; Christoph Lange Journal: Infection Date: 2016-10-31 Impact factor: 3.553
Authors: Hali Bordelon; Keersten M Ricks; Megan E Pask; Patricia K Russ; Francesca Solinas; Mark L Baglia; Philip A Short; Andrew Nel; Jonathan Blackburn; Keertan Dheda; Carlos Zamudio; Tatiana Cáceres; David W Wright; Frederick R Haselton; April C Pettit Journal: J Microbiol Methods Date: 2017-03-09 Impact factor: 2.363
Authors: Angela Cannas; Glendah Kalunga; Clare Green; Ludovica Calvo; Patrick Katemangwe; Klaus Reither; Mark D Perkins; Leonard Maboko; Michael Hoelscher; Elizabeth A Talbot; Peter Mwaba; Alimuddin I Zumla; Enrico Girardi; Jim F Huggett Journal: PLoS One Date: 2009-09-10 Impact factor: 3.240