Phospholipase C in Beijing strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Phospholipase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis plays an important role in pathogenesis through breaking up phospholipids and production of diacylglycerol. In this study, we examined the Beijing strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from Iranian patients for the genes encoding this enzyme. MATERIALS AND METHODS DNA extraction was performed using CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) from positive culture specimens in tuberculosis patients. PCR was then used to amplify the plcA, plcB, plcC genes of Beijing strain, and non-Beijing strains were identified by spoligotyping. RESULTS Of 200 specimens, 19 (9.5%) were Beijing strain and 181 (90.5%) were non-Beijing strains. The results of PCR for Beijing strains were as follows: 16 strains (84.2%) were positive for plcA, 17 (89.4%) were positive for plcB and 17 (89.4%) were positive for plcC genes. The standard strain (H37RV) was used as control. CONCLUSION The majority of Beijing strains have phospholipase C genes which can contribute to their pathogenesis but we need complementary studies to confirm the role of phospholipase C in pathogenecity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.