Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 1, 2026
DNA Fingerprinting of Mycobacterium leprae Strains Using Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) - Fragment Length Analysis (FLA)
Published on: July 15, 2011
Gene expression analysis of leprosy by using a multiplex branched DNA assay
Yonghu Sun1, Hong Liu, Gongqi Yu
1Shandong Provincial Institute of Dermatology and Venereology, Provincial Academy of Medical Science, Jinan, Shandong, China.
Abstract:
Leprosy is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, and the global registered prevalence of leprosy at the beginning of 2009 stood at 213,036 cases. It has long been thought that leprosy has a strong genetic risk. Recently, we have identified significant associations (P < 1.00 × 10(-10)) between SNPs in the genes CCDC122, C13orf31, NOD2, TNFSF15, HLA-DR and RIPK2 and a trend towards an association (P = 5.10 × 10(-5)) with a SNP in LRRK2. Here, we investigated the expression of these seven genes in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded skin tissues of leprosy and matched normal tissues using branched DNA technology. This technology allows for direct measurement of targeted mRNA within cellular lysate using a 96-well plate format in a time frame compared to a reporter gene assay. The clear upregulation of all seven genes was found in leprosy tissues compared to normal tissues, which further supports our genome-wide association study results.
