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Updated: Jun 20, 2026
DNA Fingerprinting of Mycobacterium leprae Strains Using Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) - Fragment Length Analysis (FLA)
Published on: July 15, 2011
PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis as a tool for Mycobacterium species identification in lepromas
Silvana M Alban1, Sandra R B R Sella, Ruy N Miranda
1Federal University of Paraná, 81531-990 Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
Objectives:
The aim of the present work was to standardise a PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism analysis (PRA) as a tool to detect the mycobacteriologic composition of lepromas from leprosy patients used in the production of lepromin to improve the quality of the Mitsuda test.
Design:
PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism analysis using hsp65 and rpoB genes were applied to 11 reference strains of mycobacteria, including M. leprae, and the obtained PRA profiles were compared to mycobacteria in clinical specimens.
Results:
Out of the biopsies studied, 522% had DNA fragment amplified for both genes (hsp65 and rpoB) for M. leprae. However, other Mycobacterium species were observed in samples of lepromatous leprosy patients. Here we discussed the importance of mycobacteria identification in the antigen of Mitsuda production to be used in the evaluation of leprosy.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that the use of the molecular approach for sample selection can contribute to an improvement in the quality of produced lepromin.
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