Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-22T20:50:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-08-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Mycobacterium avium e Mycobacterium kansasii são micobactérias não tuberculosas frequentemente isoladas em infecções em pacientes HIV positivos. Em um projeto anterior do laboratório foi estudado um cultivo misto de M. avium e M. kansasii isolado da medula óssea de um paciente HIV positivo. Estudando colônias isoladas deste cultivo, foi possível observar que a cepa de M. kansasii possuía a sequência de inserção IS1245, que é especifica de M. avium. A presença deste elemento de inserção em M. kansasii foi confirmada por PCR-IS1245, RFLP-IS1245 e sequenciamento. Este estudo teve como objetivo investigar o mecanismo de transferência da IS1245 para M. kansasii. Uma banda de aproximadamente 100 kb foi detectada por PFGE em colônias de M. avium e de M. kansasii deste cultivo misto. Testes de mobilidade desta banda de DNA em géis de PFGE, em diferentes condições de corrida, e testes com exonucleases e com topoisomerase I comprovaram que esta banda era um plasmídeo linear (pMA100), que continha proteínas covalentemente ligada nos seus terminais 5’. Estes achados levaram à hipótese de que o plasmídeo pMA100 seria responsável pela transferência natural do elemento IS1245 de M. avium para M. kansasii por conjugação. Experimentos in vitro reproduziram o evento de conjugação, tanto com a cepa de M. kansasii isolada do cultivo misto, como com outras duas cepas de M. kansasii não relacionadas. A sequência de inserção se manteve estável no genoma de M. kansasii após 10 subcultivos e foi observada a ocorrência de transposição de modo replicativo em M. kansasii. Pela primeira vez está sendo demonstrada a transferência horizontal de genes natural entre espécies diferentes de micobactérias. / Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium kansasii are non-tuberculous mycobacteria frequently isolated in infections from HIV positive patients. In a previous study from our laboratory, a mixed culture of M. avium and M. kansasii from a bone marrow isolate of an HIV positive patient was studied. The analysis of isolated colonies allowed the detection of the insertion sequence IS1245, specific from M. avium, in M. kansasii. The presence of this element in M. kansasii was confirmed by PCR-IS1245, RFLP-IS1245 and sequencing. The objective of this study was to investigate the mechanism of transference of the IS1245 to M. kansasii. A band of approximately 100 kb was detected by PFGE in colonies of M. avium and M. kansasii from this mixed culture. Tests of mobility of this DNA band in PFGE gels, in different running conditions, and tests with exonucleases and topoisomerase I demonstrated that this band was a linear plasmid (pMA100) with proteins covalently linked to the 5’ ends. These findings led to the hypothesis that the pMA100 plasmid was responsible for the natural transference of the IS1245 element from M. avium to M. kansasii by conjugation. Experiments performed in vitro reproduced the conjugation event, not only with the M. kansasii strain from the mixed culture, but also with other two unrelated M. kansasii strains. The insertion sequence was stably maintained in the M. kansasii genome after 10 subcultures and its replicative transposition in M. kansasii was also observed. For the first time the natural horizontal gene transfer between different species of mycobacteria has been demonstrated. / TEDE / BV UNIFESP: Teses e dissertações

The role of Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis (MAP) in the etiology and pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) including Crohn's Disease (CD), has been investigated. The fastidious characteristics and cross reactivity of MAP with other members in Mycobacteria have produced significant challenges in their detection and identification. In this two year pilot study, an array of three PCR molecular assays based on the detection of sequences from the16S rRNA, IS1245, and IS900 genes, belonging to members of the MAC, have been developed and optimized into a common protocol to be used as a rapid and accurate diagnostic tool regarding M. avium complex (MAC) infection. The PCR protocol time was reduced by half, and the sensitivity and specificity of the molecular assays has been significantly improved barring the need for southern hybridization. This improved methodology was employed for the molecular typing of MAC in 100 resected, full-thickness tissue samples removed from IBD patients. The tissue samples were homogenized, decontaminated, and inoculated into two mycobacterial culture media systems. A total of 328 Bactec and Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MIGT) cultures were evaluated for positive MAC growth. Harvested cells were then subjected to genomic DNA extraction and subsequent PCR typing. The I6 S rRNA-based PCR resulted in detection of 26/28 (93%) MAC in Bactec cultures. Specifically, 25/28 (89%) of positive MAC indicated the presence of IS1245 specific to M. avium subsp avium (MAV), and 6/28 (21%) produced results consistent with the presence of IS900 following nested PCR. Moreover, 20/100 (20%) of MGIT cultures were positive for MAP. Sequence analysis was performed on amplified regions of the IS900 element from seven isolates. A nucleotide alignment revealed that 2/7 isolates demonstrated 100% homology to Bovine MAP and 5/7 isolates showed 96-99% homology to sequenced Bovine MAP published in GenBank. The detection of at least two Bovine derived MAP in IBD tissue will have great impact on the epidemiology and reclassification of IBD. The significant homology of the other five isolates to Bovine derived MAP suggests a diversity in the geographical distribution of MAP regarding Johne's disease and CD. Ultimately, the etiology, diagnosis, and the treatment of IBD as well as control and prevention measures may be enhanced with better tools for investigating emerging infectious diseases.