Tuberc Respir Dis.  2007 Oct;63(4):331-336.

Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA by PCR in Peripheral Blood of Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis

• Hong YK
• Jo KU
• Lee H
• Kim MN
• Sung H
• Oh YM
• Lee SD
• Kim WS
• Kim DS
• Kim WD
• Shim TS

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Although pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is a respiratory disease, the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) DNA or Mtb itself has been reported in the peripheral blood (PB) of several patients with pulmonary TB. Additionally, it was recently announced that active pulmonary TB patients donated PB, and that this blood was then transfused to other individuals in Korea.
METHODS
Sixty-nine patients with bacteriologically-confirmed pulmonary TB (35), non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease (6), and other lung diseases (28) were enrolled in this study, which was conducted to determine if Mtb DNA could be detected in the PB by PCR. In addition, 10 pulmonary TB patients with high-burden bacilli were also enrolled in this study for the culture of Mtb in PB.
RESULTS
PCR detected the presence of Mtb in 22.8% (8/35) of the pulmonary TB patients, in 16.7% (1/6) of the patients with NTM lung disease, and in none of the patients with other diseases (0%). In addition, no Mtb was cultured from the PB of the 10 pulmonary TB patients.
CONCLUSION
Although Mtb DNA was detected in the PB of some patients with pulmonary TB, viable Mtb was not isolated from the PB of those patients, which indicates that patients that viable Mth may not be transmitted via trasfusion of blood of pulmonary TB patients.

Keyword

Polymerase chain reaction; Peripheral blood; Pulmonary tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis

MeSH Terms

DNA*
Humans
Korea
Lung Diseases
Mycobacterium tuberculosis*
Mycobacterium*
Polymerase Chain Reaction*
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary*
DNA

Figure

• 

  Figure 1 Agarose gel electrophoresis of nested PCR products in 69 patients. Eight pulmonary TB(arrowhead) and one NTM patient (arrow) showed 190 bp-sized bands, suggesting M. tuberculosis. M: marker DNA, P: positive control, N: negative control.

Reference

1. Fujiwara H, Kleinhenz ME, Wallis RS, Ellner JJ. Increased interleukin-1 production and monocyte suppressor cell activity associated with human tuberculosis. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1986. 133:73–77.

2. Schluger NW, Condos R, Lewis S, Rom WN. Amplification of DNA of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from peripheral blood of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Lancet. 1994. 344:232–233.

3. Folgueira L, Delgado R, Palenque E, Aguado JM, Noriega AR. Rapid diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteremia by PCR. J Clin Microbiol. 1996. 34:512–515.

4. Condos R, McClune A, Rom WN, Schluger NW. Peripheral blood based PCR assay to identify patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis. Lancet. 1996. 347:1082–1085.

5. Kolk AH, Kox LF, Kuijper S, Richter C. Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in peripheral blood. Lancet. 1944. 344:694.

6. Schiller NB, Stein SC. Whole blood transfusion as a determinant of tuberculin sensitivity. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1969. 100:740–741.

7. Sansila A, Hongmanee P, Chuchottaworn C, Rienthong S, Rienthong D, Palittapongarnpim P. Differentiation between Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium avium by amplification of the 16S-23S ribosomal DNA spacer. J Clin Microbiol. 1998. 36:2399–2403.

8. Ahmed N, Mohanty AK, Mukhopadhyay U, Batish VK, Grover S. PCR-based rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in blood from immunocompetent patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. J Clin Microbiol. 1998. 36:3094–3095.

9. Kim GW, Lee JM, Kang MJ, Son JW, Lee SJ, Kim DG, et al. Clinical significance of PCR-based rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in peripheral blood. Tuberc Respir Dis. 2001. 50:599–606.

10. Tjhie JH, van Belle AF, Dessens-Kroon M, van Soolingen D. Misidentification and diagnostic delay caused by a false-positive amplified Mycobacterium tuberculosis Direct Test in an immunocompetent patient with a Mycobacterium celatum infection. J Clin Microbiol. 2001. 39:2311–2312.

11. Chedore P, Broukhanski G, Shainhouse Z, Jamieson F. False-positive amplified Mycobacterium tuberculosis Direct Test results for samples containing Mycobacterium leprae. J Clin Microbiol. 2006. 44:612–613.