Turkish and Japanese Mycobacterium tuberculosis sublineages share a remote common ancestor.

Two geographically distant M. tuberculosis sublineages, Tur from Turkey and T3-Osaka from Japan, exhibit partially identical genotypic signatures (identical 12-loci MIRU-VNTR profiles, distinct spoligotyping patterns). We investigated T3-Osaka and Tur sublineages characteristics and potential genetic relatedness, first using MIRU-VNTR locus analysis on 21 and 25 samples of each sublineage respectively, and second comparing Whole Genome Sequences of 8 new samples to public data from 45 samples uncovering human tuberculosis diversity.

Rapid improvement of massive bloody pleural effusion after splenectomy for splenic marginal zone lymphoma.

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) is a rare malignant lymphoma involving marginal zone B cells, accounting for only 1% of non-Hodgkin lymphomas. No previous reports have documented SMZL accompanied by massive bloody pleural effusion. Herein, the case of a patient with SMZL that was only diagnosed after splenectomy and thoracoscopic pleural biopsy is presented.

[A case of non-tuberculous mycobacteriosis with pleurisy with a past history of dense exposure to environmental asbestos].

We report a case of non-tuberculous mycobacteriosis (NTM) with pleurisy in a 75-year-old man. The patient was admitted with a diagnosis of pneumonia. Chest radiography and CT scans revealed a tumorous shadow that increased rapidly in size despite treatment with antibiotics.

[Resistance-conferring mutations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains with low level resistance to isoniazid].

Objective: We investigated the prevalence of isoniazid (INH) resistance-conferring mutations in the INH-indeterminate Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains.

Materials And Methods: We initially selected a sample of 47 clinical isolates of MTB from patients, who visited the Osaka Prefectural Medical Center for Respiratory and Allergic Diseases from 2000 to 2005. Strains resistant to the concentration of 1 - 2 microg/ml were defined as "indeterminate".

[Treatment outcome of patients with multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis during pregnancy].

Purpose: To know the treatment outcome of patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) during gestation.

Method: Retrospective study of 3 cases of pregnant women, who were treated for MDR-TB with a regimen including pyrazinamide, ethambutol, para-aminosalicylic acid, cycloserine and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid.

Result: All patients showed a good response to anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy without any serious adverse effect, and were culture-negative at the time of delivery.

[Molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis by the use of IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism: a study from 2001 to 2003].

Objective: To analyze the situation of tuberculosis infection by DNA fingerprinting in the middle and eastern part of Osaka, Japan.

Design: We performed IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) on 1200 isolates from tuberculosis patients who visited our hospital from January 2001 to December 2003. A cluster was defined as a series of isolates with more than 90% similarity by IS6110 RFLP and those with the same drug-susceptibility pattern.

IS6110 DNA fingerprinting analysis of individually separated colonies of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

There are no data so far that show IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns of individually separated tuberculosis bacilli from clinical isolates, and their alterations during follow-up surveys. We picked 20-60 tuberculosis clones from clinical isolates under anti-tuberculosis medication, and individually analysed their DNA fingerprinting patterns using IS6110 RFLP as well as spoligotyping as a second typing. The study using cloned bacilli of Mycobacterium tuberculosis showed that clinical isolates contained several clones with different DNA fingerprints and that their band patterns altered weakly but distinctly during follow-up surveys.

Specific detection of tuberculosis infection: an interferon-gamma-based assay using new antigens.

The tuberculin skin test for immunologic diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection has many limitations, including being confounded by bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination or exposure to nontuberculous mycobacteria. M. tuberculosis-specific antigens that are absent from BCG and most nontuberculous mycobacteria have been identified.

[Fluctuation in the ratio between drug-resistant and -susceptible M. tuberculosis bacilli which were isolated from patients with prolonged anti-tuberculosis treatment].

Purpose: In this study, we examined the fluctuation in the ratio between strains of tuberculosis bacilli resistant and susceptible to the anti-tuberculosis drugs.

Material & Method: We selected the cases in which the bacilli acquired drug resistance during the therapy and the cases in which drug resistance was fluctuating during prolonged anti-tuberculosis treatment. We selected the isolates throughout the medication period, and the selected isolates were separated into respective single colonies.

[Molecular epidemiologic study of tuberculosis--a study on isolates of M. tuberculosis in southern half of Osaka Prefecture].

Restriction fragment length polymorphism, RFLP or DNA fingerprinting technique provides a very useful tool for the study of epidemiology of tuberculosis transmission in human. We performed RFLP analysis with the IS6110 insertion sequence of the organisms isolated from culture-positive patients who visited our Hospital during the period from January to December 2001. Our Hospital covers patients living in southern half of Osaka Prefecture including a part of Osaka City, which is the highest TB prevalence area in Japan.

[A study of INH 0.1 microgram/ml resistant M. tuberculosis strains assessed by BrothMIC MTB-1 method].

In the antimycobacterial susceptibility test for INH using the egg-based Ogawa media, 3 concentrations (0.1, 1, or 5 micrograms/ml) of INH were used, and 1 microgram/ml was used as a critical concentration for INH resistance. However, it was controversial whether INH 0.