Characterization of the genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in São Paulo city, Brazil.

Background: Tuberculosis is a major health problem in São Paulo, Brazil, which is the most populous and one of the most cosmopolitan cities in South America. To characterize the genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the population of this city, the genotyping techniques of spoligotyping and MIRU were applied to 93 isolates collected in two consecutive years from 93 different tuberculosis patients residing in São Paulo city and attending the Clemente Ferreira Institute (the reference clinic for the treatment of tuberculosis).

Findings: Spoligotyping generated 53 different spoligotype patterns.

Contribution of spoligotyping to the characterization of the population structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates in Portugal.

Tuberculosis is a major health problem in Portugal. To begin characterizing the population structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, spoligotyping was used for the systematic typing, through consecutive sampling, of patient isolates from the Amadora-Sintra area of Greater Lisbon. Distribution amongst major spoligotype families, including the Latin American Mediterranean (LAM), T, Haarlem and Beijing, was compared to that of the international spoligotype database SpolDB4 and to the European countries of traditional Portuguese immigration represented in SpolDB4.

Spoligotyping and pncA polymorphism: a two step scenario for Mycobacterium bovis diagnosis in Portugal.

The differential diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis is important in the control of transmission to the human population and also for treatment since M. bovis is naturally resistant to pyrazinamide. Eleven clinical isolates from the Fernando Fonseca Hospital with Spoligotypes indicative of M.

Update on the Spoligotypes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolates from the Fernando Fonseca Hospital (Amadora-Sintra, Portugal).

The present population study, from 1999 to 2003, has been based on the use of Spoligotyping in the genotyping of 452 isolates of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex from tuberculosis patients of the Fernando Fonseca Hospital. Spoligotypes were identified as "shared types" (STs) with the aid of an international database. Eleven rarely found STs, not identified in the database, grouped 8.

In vitro effect of free and complexed indium(III) against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

In mycobacteria, the study of inhibition by metal ions has been limited by the absence of suitable molecular vectors. Recently, we reported on the inhibitory activity of a family of chelators, macrocyclic compounds (MCC), against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this study equimolar concentrations of the free cations vanadium(IV), arsenic(III), iron(III), indium(III) and bismuth(III), and as 1:1 complexes with the MCC 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane-1,4,8,11-tetra-acetic acid (TETA) were tested in vitro against M.

Exploring Mycobacterium avium inhibition by macrocyclic compounds.

Derivatives of synthetic macrocyclic compounds, MCC, 12- and 14-membered tetraazamacrocycles with N-pendant arms, such as N-methyl (Mepy14), N-acetate (DOTA, TETA and ac3py14) and N-methylphosphonate (DOTP) groups, were investigated in terms of their in vitro activity against Mycobacterium avium and for intracellular clearance, using the murine macrophage cell line J-774. Perspective results on a laboratory strain, of opaque morphology, showed in vitro activity with varying inhibitory patterns from one compound to another. The most active compounds, such as TETA, presented N-acetate pendant arms.

[Molecular identification using Spoligotyping of strains from the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolated from the Hospital Fernando Fonseca].

Spoligotyping was used in the genotyping of 219 isolates of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, from patients of the Hospital Fernando Fonseca. This technique, based on PCR methodology, analyses a region of the chromosome specific of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, the DR locus (Direct Repeat). With the aid of an international database, we showed that the predominant Spoligotypes belonged to the LAM family (Latino-American Mediterranean), 29.

Serological screening for tuberculosis in the community: an evaluation of the Mycodot procedure in an African population with high HIV-2 prevalence (Republic of Guinea-Bissau).

The immuno-dot-blot assay MycoDot, which detects lipoarabinomannan (LAM) antibodies, was evaluated for the serological diagnosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis in patients in a rural community in the Republic of Guinea-Bissau. Sera from 269 adults (age > 15) and 33 children (age < 5) were assayed for antibodies in a blind manner and the results compared to the clinical status of tuberculosis. The assay had a specificity and a sensitivity of 92.