title: Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA detection in soluble fraction of urine from pulmonary tuberculosis patients.
abstract: METHODS
  A tertiary care and research institution in Italy.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Small DNA fragments from cells dying throughout the body have been detected in urine (transrenal DNA [Tr-DNA]).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To test the hypothesis that Mycobacterium tuberculosis Tr-DNA could be detected in the urine of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 43 patients with culture-confirmed pulmonary TB with no evidence of extra-pulmonary involvement, 10 patients with pulmonary diseases other than TB and 13 healthy controls. DNA was extracted from urine and analysed by semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
  
  
  RESULTS
  M. tuberculosis-specific sequences were found in the urine of 34 of 43 (79%) TB patients studied, whereas all controls were negative. The transrenal nature of M. tuberculosis DNA was demonstrated by two lines of evidence: first, separate analysis of supernatants and sediments from eight of the study patients found seven positive supernatants but only two matched positive sediments. Second, M. tuberculosis-specific sequences were amplified by semi-nested PCR with primers designed for short but not large amplicons.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Small M. tuberculosis DNA fragments may be detected in the urine of a significant proportion of patients with pulmonary TB. If these observations are confirmed by larger studies, Tr-DNA technology could represent a new approach for detecting pulmonary M. tuberculosis infection.
authors.affiliation: Spaxen Italia SRL, Rome, Italy. cnnas@immi.it
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cannas
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goletti
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Girardi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chiacchio
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Calvo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cuzzi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piacentini
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Melkonyan
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Umansky
authors.forename: F N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Lauria
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ippolito
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Tomei
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000652:urine*; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial