Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Research Article: BMC Infectious Diseases

Published by National Institutes of Health | U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | Catalog Last Checked: September 07, 2025 at 10:58 PM | Dataset Last Updated: September 06, 2025
Background Pyrazinamide (PZA) is among the first-line drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis. In vitro, it kills semidormant mycobacteria only at low pH. The purpose of this study was to compare PZA resistance with pyrazinamidase (PZase) activity and the genotype to better understand the molecular basis of PZA resistance and to expand the profile of pncA mutations worldwide. Results Of the 28 tested strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, 6 were susceptible to PZA and positive for PZase activity and had no pncA mutations. Twenty-one strains were resistant to PZA and negative for PZase activity and had mutations in the pncA gene, including 15 point mutations, 5 insertions, and 2 deletions. One strain had no mutation in the pncA gene, even though it was resistant to PZA and negative for PZase activity. Three isolates had adenine to guanine point mutations in the -11 upstream region, making this the most common type of pncA mutations in this study, with at least two different RFLP patterns. Conclusion These data help in the understanding of the molecular basis of PZA resistance. An adenine to guanine point mutation in the -11 upstream region was the most common type of pncA mutation in our isolates. The results of pncA mutation analyses should be carefully interpreted for epidemiologic purposes.

Resources

1 resource available

  • Official Government Data Source

    TEXT/HTML

Find Related Datasets

data.gov

An official website of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov