Multidrug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a retrospective katG and rpoB mutation profile analysis in isolates from a reference center in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Multidrug resistance is a critical factor in tuberculosis control. To gain better understanding of multidrug resistant tuberculosis in Brazil, a retrospective study was performed to compare genotypic diversity and drug resistance associated mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from a national reference center. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Ninety-nine multidrug resistant isolates from 12 Brazilian states were studied. Drug-resistance patterns were determined and the rpoB and katG genes were screened for mutations. Genotypic diversity was investigated by IS6110-RFLP and Luminex 47 spoligotyping. Mutations in rpoB and katG were seen in 91% and 93% of the isolates, respectively. Codon 315 katG mutations occurred in 82.8% of the isolates with a predominance of the Ser315Thr substitution. Twenty-five isolates were clustered in 11 groups with identical IS6110-RFLP patterns while 74 showed unique patterns with no association between mutation frequencies or susceptibility profiles. The most prevalent spoligotyping lineages were LAM (47%), T (17%) and Haarlen (12%). The Haarlen lineage showed a higher frequency of codon 516 rpoB mutations while codon 531 mutations prevailed in the other isolates. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that there were no major multidrug resistant M. tuberculosis strains transmitted among patients referred to the reference center, indicating an independent acquisition of resistance. In addition, drug resistance associated mutation profiles were well established among the main spoligotyping lineages found in these Brazilian multidrug resistant isolates, providing useful data for patient management and treatment.

Drug susceptibility of Brazilian strains of Mycobacterium bovis using traditional and molecular techniques

Transmission of Mycobacterium bovis from cattle to humans has been reported and can cause tuberculosis (Tb) and a problem in certain risk populations. Therefore, knowledge of resistance of M. bovis towards antibiotics used for therapy of human Tb could help avoiding cure delay and treatment cost increase when dealing with drug resistant organisms. We therefore evaluated the susceptibility of M. bovis isolates towards streptomycin, isoniazide, rifampicin, ethambutol, and ethionamide, the first line antibiotics for human Tb. Therefore, 185 clinical samples from cattle with clinical signs of tuberculosis were processed and submitted to culturing and bacterial isolates to identification and drug susceptibility testing using the proportion method. Among 89 mycobacterial strains, 65 were identified as M. bovis and none were resistant to any of the antibiotics used. Confirmation of present results by future studies, enrolling a large number of isolates and designed to properly represent Brazilian regions, may favor the idea of using isoniazide preventive therapy as part of a Tb control strategy in special situations. Also, nucleic acids from bacterial isolates were submitted to rifoligotyping, a recently described reverse hybridization assay for detection of mutations causing resistance towards rifampicin. Concordance between the conventional and the molecular test was 100 percent, demonstrating the use of such methodology for rapid evaluation of drug susceptibility in M. bovis.

Drug susceptibility of Brazilian strains of Mycobacterium bovis using traditional and molecular techniques.

Transmission of Mycobacterium bovis from cattle to humans has been reported and can cause tuberculosis (Tb) and a problem in certain risk populations. Therefore, knowledge of resistance of M. bovis towards antibiotics used for therapy of human Tb could help avoiding cure delay and treatment cost increase when dealing with drug resistant organisms. We therefore evaluated the susceptibility of M. bovis isolates towards streptomycin, isoniazide, rifampicin, ethambutol, and ethionamide, the first line antibiotics for human Tb. Therefore, 185 clinical samples from cattle with clinical signs of tuberculosis were processed and submitted to culturing and bacterial isolates to identification and drug susceptibility testing using the proportion method. Among 89 mycobacterial strains, 65 were identified as M. bovis and none were resistant to any of the antibiotics used. Confirmation of present results by future studies, enrolling a large number of isolates and designed to properly represent Brazilian regions, may favor the idea of using isoniazide preventive therapy as part of a Tb control strategy in special situations. Also, nucleic acids from bacterial isolates were submitted to rifoligotyping, a recently described reverse hybridization assay for detection of mutations causing resistance towards rifampicin. Concordance between the conventional and the molecular test was 100%, demonstrating the use of such methodology for rapid evaluation of drug susceptibility in M. bovis.

Estudo da profundidade de polimerizaçäo de resina por alguns aparelhos fotopolimerizadores: relaçäo com a dureza / Study of the resin cure depth by some light cure units related to hardness

Este trabalho visa avaliar a profundidade de polimerizaçäo de 05 (cinco) aparelhos fotopolimerizadores em uso da Faculdade de Odontologia da UERJ. Os aparelhos fotopolimerizadores foram avaliados por meio de um medidor de intensidade de luz, o radiômetro (Demetron Curing Tadiometer). Este registrou a integridade luminosa emitida por cada aparelho durante 40 segundos. Uma correlaçäo entre intensidade de luz obtida pelo radiômetro e profundidade de polimerizaçäo foi alcançada