Mutation analysis of the Mycobacterium leprae folP1 gene and dapsone resistance.

ABSTRACT: Diaminodiphenylsulfone (dapsone) has long been used as a first-line drug worldwide for the treatment of leprosy. Diagnosis for dapsone resistance of Mycobacterium leprae by DNA tests would be of great clinical value, but the relationship between the nucleotide substitutions and susceptibility to dapsone must be clarified before use. In this study, we constructed recombinant strains of cultivable Mycobacterium smegmatis carrying the M. leprae folP1 gene with or without a point mutation, disrupting their own folP gene on the chromosome. Dapsone susceptibilities of the recombinant bacteria were measured to examine influence of the mutations. Dapsone MICs for most of the strains with mutations at codon 53 or 55 of M. leprae folP1 were 2 to 16 times as high as the MIC for the strain with the wi

SUBMITTER: Nakata N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3028759 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature