title: [Identification of Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex by PCR of AIDS and disseminated mycobacteriosis].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to differentially identify MAC by PCR in patients with AIDS and disseminated mycobacteriosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross sectional study was conducted in Mexico to identify MAC by Molecular Biology. Two sets of primers were synthesized: MAV and MIN, for M. avium and M. intracellulare, respectively. Whole-cell DNAs obtained from 29 clinical isolates and clinical serum specimens from other 24 patients with AIDS and disseminated mycobacterial infection were extracted and amplified by PCR with the MAV and MIN primers. The MAV and MIN primers each amplified one highly specific 1.3-kb segment of the homologous DNA, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-nine DNAs from MAC clinical isolates identified by Gen-Probe AccuProbes were amplified with the MAV primers. Of the 24 clinical samples, 3 were positive for M. avium and 6 for M. tuberculosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results demonstrated that PCR technique could be applied for the differentiation of M. avium and M. intracellulare by specific 16S rRNA primers. In patients with advanced stage AIDS and in whom disseminated mycobacteriosis is suspected, the presence of anemia (even with negative cultures), elevated alkaline phosphatase and a median CD4 count of 15.9/mL, the diagnosis of infection by MAC should be strongly considered; we suggest that in accordance with our findings, a more precise stratification of patients in terms of their CD4 T cell counts is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Investigación Médica en Inmunología e Infectología, Hospital de Infectología, Centro Médico Nacional La Raza, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Ciudad de México, México. gelorriaga@webtelmex.net.mx.
authors.forename: Guadalupe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: García-Elorriaga
authors.forename: Edgar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Degollado-Estrada
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villagómez-Ruiz
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cortés-Torres
authors.forename: Lilián
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Arreguín-Reséndiz
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Del Rey-Pineda
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: González-Bonilla
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015269:Mycobacterium avium Complex / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015270:Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Infection / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; Mycobacterium avium complex; Nontuberculous mycobacterium infections; Polymerase chain reaction