Evaluation of porB variable region typing of Neisseria gonorrhoeae using PCR-ELISA in samples collected from men who have sex with men

Abstract

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methodology was developed to characterize Neisseria gonorrhoeae porB gene variable regions (VR); the methodology was evaluated in comparison to porB VR typing by checkerboard hybridization. Clinical noncultured samples from 35 men who have sex with men (MSM), positive by nucleic amplification assays for N. gonorrhoeae, were typed using a panel of 40 oligonucleotide probes to porB VRs and compared to checkerboard hybridization. Complete concordance was observed between the two methods at PIB VRs 1, 3, and 7. At the more degenerate VRs 5 and 6, PCR ELISA resulted in obtaining more typeable VRs than checkerboard h..