HIGH SENSITIVE PCR METHOD FOR DETECTION OF PATHOGENIC Leptospira spp. IN PARAFFIN-EMBEDDED TISSUES

• Autor(a) principal: Noda, Angel Alberto
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Rodríguez, Islay, Rodríguez, Yaindrys, Govín, Anamays, Fernández, Carmen, Obregón, Ana Margarita
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Texto Completo: https://www.revistas.usp.br/rimtsp/article/view/87535

This study describes the development and application of a new PCR assay for the specific detection of pathogenic leptospires and its comparison with a previously reported PCR protocol. New primers were designed for PCR optimization and evaluation in artificially-infected paraffin-embedded tissues. PCR was then applied to post-mortem, paraffin-embedded samples, followed by amplicon sequencing. The PCR was more efficient than the reported protocol, allowing the amplification of expected DNA fragment from the artificially infected samples and from 44% of the post-mortem samples. The sequences of PCR amplicons from different patients showed >;99% homology with pathogenic leptospires DNA sequences. The applicability of a highly sensitive and specific tool to screen histological specimens for the detection of pathogenic Leptospira spp. would facilitate a better assessment of the prevalence and epidemiology of leptospirosis, which constitutes a health problem in many countries.