Detection of high-level tetracycline resistance in clinical isolates of Helicobacter pylori using PCR-RFLP

Tetracycline is one of four antibiotics commonly used for the treatment of Helicobaeter pylori infection, but its effectiveness is decreasing as the incidence of tetracycline resistance is increasing. In five Brazilian tetracycline-resistant (Tet(R)) H. pylori isolates, high-level tetracycline resistance is mediated by the triple-base-pair substitution AGA(926-928) --> TTC in both 16S rRNA genes, as was previously observed in two independent high-level Tet(R) H. pylori strains. A polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay was developed for the detection of the AGA(926-928) --> TTC substitution, and confirmed the presence of the aforementioned triple-base-pair substitution in all five Brazilian TetR isolates. This PCR-RFLP-based approach distinguishes the high-level Tet(R) isolates from low-level Tet(R) and Tet(S) H. pylori strains and thus allows the direct detection of Tet(R) H. pylori isolates. (C) 2003 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.