ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2008
Enumeration of Mycobacterium leprae using real-time PCR.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 136 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative analysis of the leprosy detection rate regarding its clinical spectrum through PCR using theFrontiers in microbiology · 2024Pooled it
- UndetectableOne health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2026Article
- Assessment of Antimicrobial Resistance in M. leprae Strains From Kiribati.Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH · 2026Article
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- Biosensor-Based Platforms for the Detection and Screening ofACS infectious diseases · 2026Review
- Leprosy neuropathy and demyelinating impairment: How should we interpret this neurophysiological pattern?PloS one · 2026Observational
- Tuberculosis: An Ongoing Global Threat.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Accuracy of the qPCR method in intradermal scraping samples from individuals with suspected leprosy in a Brazilian macroregion.Scientific reports · 2025Observational
- Mycobacterium leprae in Nine-Banded Armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus), Ecuador.Emerging infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Role of histopathological, serological and molecular findings for the early diagnosis of treatment failure in leprosy.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Molecular and Serological Surveillance forAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Article
- qPCR detection ofFrontiers in molecular biosciences · 2024Article
- Challenges and advances in serological and molecular tests to aid leprosy diagnosis.Experimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.) · 2023Review
- Highly sensitive and rapid determination of Mycobacterium leprae based on real-time multiple cross displacement amplification.BMC microbiology · 2023Article
- Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction for Detection of Mycobacterium leprae DNA in Tissue Specimens from Patients with Leprosy.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2023Article
- Genotyping ofIranian journal of microbiology · 2023Article
- Mycobacterium leprae in Armadillo Tissues from Museum Collections, United States.Emerging infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Leprosy in an Adopted Woman Diagnosed by Molecular Tools: A Case Report from a Non-Endemic Area.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Effect of adipose derived stromal vascular fraction on leprosy neuropathy: A Preliminary report.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Mycobacterium leprae is not cultivable in axenic media, and direct microscopic enumeration of the bacilli is complex, labor intensive, and suffers from limited sensitivity and specificity. We have developed a real-time PCR assay for quantifying M. leprae DNA in biological samples. Primers were identified to amplify a shared region of the multicopy repeat sequence (RLEP) specific to M. leprae and tested for sensitivity and specificity in the TaqMan format. The assay was specific for M. leprae and able to detect 10 fg of purified M. leprae DNA, or approximately 300 bacteria in infected tissues. We used the RLEP TaqMan PCR to assess the short and long-term growth results of M. leprae in foot pad tissues obtained from conventional mice, a gene knock-out mouse strain, athymic nude mice, as well as from reticuloendothelial tissues of M. leprae-infected nine-banded armadillos. We found excellent correlative results between estimates from RLEP TaqMan PCR and direct microscopic counting (combined r = 0.98). The RLEP TaqMan PCR permitted rapid analysis of batch samples with high reproducibility and is especially valuable for detection of low numbers of bacilli. Molecular enumeration is a rapid, objective and highly reproducible means to estimate the numbers of M. leprae in tissues, and application of the technique can facilitate work with this agent in many laboratories.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.