02201nas a2200481   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001200055653002400067653002300091653001100114653001700125653001900142653003000161653003000191653001600221653001100237653002100248653002300269653001200292653002500304653000900329653001500338653002500353653003000378653003100408653005200439653001900491100001100510700001000521700001100531700001000542700001100552700001000563700000900573700001000582700001000592245012500602300001100727490000700738520096000745022001401705       2002                            d  c2002 May10aAnimals10aAntigens, Bacterial10aBacterial Proteins10aBiopsy10aDensitometry10aDNA, Bacterial10aDrug Therapy, Combination10aElectrophoresis, Agar Gel10aGlycolipids10aHumans10aImmunoglobulin M10aLeprostatic Agents10aleprosy10aLongitudinal studies10aMice10aMice, Nude10aMycobacterium leprae10apolymerase chain reaction10aReproducibility of Results10aReverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction10aRNA, Messenger1 aChae G1 aKim M1 aKang T1 aLee S1 aShin H1 aKim J1 aKo Y1 aKim S1 aKim N00aDNA-PCR and RT-PCR for the 18-kDa gene of Mycobacterium leprae to assess the efficacy of multi-drug therapy for leprosy.  a417-220 v513 a<p>DNA-PCR and reverse transcription (RT)-PCR for the 18-kDa protein of Mycobacterium leprae were used to examine the efficacy of multi-drug therapy (MDT) in leprosy. MDT was administered for 0-24 months. Fourteen (63.6%) of 22 patients showed positive PCR results after treatment for 12 months and the positive results decreased to 30% after 24 months of MDT. These results did not correlate with the bacterial index (BI) or the IgM antibody titre for the phenolic glycolipid (PGL)-1. One-dimensional densitometric analysis of agarose gels from PCR from the longitudinal study showed a gradual reduction of the 360-bp band after 12-24 months of MDT. RT-PCR for mRNA of the 18-kDa protein successfully tracked bacterial RNA changes in the biopsies and confirmed a decrease in the RNA of M. leprae in patients after MDT for 12 months. Thus, DNA- and RT-PCR for the 18-kDa protein of M. leprae are effective in assessing the efficacy of MDT for leprosy.</p>  a0022-2615