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Detection of Apparent Cell-free M. tuberculosis DNA from Plasma
E S Click1, W Murithi2, G S Ouma2
1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA. eoc9@cdc.gov.
Scientific Reports
|January 14, 2018
Summary
Detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA in plasma shows promise for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) in patients, even without bloodstream infection. This finding could lead to improved TB diagnostics, especially for vulnerable groups.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Diagnostics
- Infectious Disease Research
- Genomic Medicine
Background:
- Improved diagnostics are crucial for tuberculosis (TB) detection, particularly in high-risk populations like children and individuals with HIV.
- Rapid drug resistance detection is also a significant unmet clinical need.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the utility of circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) in plasma as a diagnostic target for tuberculosis (TB).
- To explore the potential of detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA in plasma for TB diagnosis.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to test plasma samples from participants for the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA.
- The study included 40 participants with bacteriologically-confirmed smear-positive TB disease.
Main Results:
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA was detected in the plasma of 18 out of 40 (45%) participants with smear-positive TB.
- Detection was achieved even in the absence of mycobacteremia (bacteria in the bloodstream).
Conclusions:
- Plasma DNA represents a potential biomarker for improving the clinical diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB).
- These findings lay the groundwork for developing optimized ccfDNA testing methods and sequence-based diagnostics for TB, including drug resistance detection.
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