Mechanisms of Heteroresistance to Isoniazid and Rifampin of M. tuberculosis in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Heteroresistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is defined as the co-existence of organisms either susceptible or resistant to an anti-tuberculosis drug in one patient. Here, we analyzed the underlying mechanisms of heteroresistance to INH and RMP in 35 tuberculosis (TB) patients from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, using the Genotype MTBDR assay. The MTBDR assay is designed to detect wild-type and mutations of the 81-bp hotspot region of the rpoB gene and of codon 315 of the katG gene conferring resistance to rifampin (RMP) and isoniazid (INH), respectively. In seven of the 35 cases (20%), wild-type and resistant organism…