Journal of Biomedicine and Translational Research
Vol 12, No 1 (2026): April 2026

Rapid PCR-RFLP Screening of CYP21A2 Variants: Bridging Molecular Diagnostics in a Low-Resource Setting

Larasati, Irene Astrid (Unknown)
Maharani, Nani (Unknown)
Utari, Agustini (Unknown)
Winarni, Tri Indah (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Apr 2026

Abstract

Background: The 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD) accounted for the majority of autosomal recessive inherited congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) cases. A genetic test could offer a more thorough diagnostic approach because of the wide range of disease’s severity, but it was challenging in a resource-limited setting.Objective: To apply a simple and cost-effective rapid molecular screening for detecting the most common CYP21A2 variants causing salt-wasting (SW) CAH.Methods: DNA extraction was conducted using a salting out method from a venous blood sample taken from 49 CAH patients without prior genetic testing. A PCR-RFLP approach was utilized using primer sets specifically designed to anneal to the CYP21A2. Specific restriction enzymes were selected to cleave the DNA sequence, differentiating the wild and mutant type, i.e, the p.Arg357Trp, p.Gln318Ter, IVS2-13A/C>G, and exon 6 cluster. Samples positive for those mutation types detected from DNA sequencing, used as positive controls.Results: The most common variant was IVS2-13A/C>G, detected in 26 out of 27 patients. Only 6.1% of 49 patients were found to have the p.Gln318Ter variant. Both the p.Arg357Trp and exon 6 cluster carried inconclusive results. All patients detected with the IVS2-13A/C>G and p.Gln318Ter had a phenotype of SW CAH.Conclusion: The PCR-RFLP was an advantageous method for identifying CYP21A2 variants in a low-resource setting. Nevertheless, the use of multiplex ligation-probe dependent amplification (MLPA) and Sanger sequencing offered a comprehensive analysis to discover novel variants that could help with patients' diagnosis and treatment.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jbtr

Publisher

Subject

Biochemistry, Genetics & Molecular Biology Medicine & Pharmacology

Description

Journal of Biomedicine and Translational Research (JBTR) is an open access, international peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on: clinical medicine, molecular medicine, tropical medicine, infectious diseases, cardiovascular medicine, molecular biology, genetics, immunology, microbiology, ...