Development of a LUX real-time PCR for the detection and quantification of human herpesvirus 7

2009 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Bergallo ◽  
Cristina Costa ◽  
Maria Elena Terlizzi ◽  
Francesca Sidoti ◽  
Samuela Margio ◽  
...  

Human herpesvirus 7 is a highly seroprevalent β-herpesvirus that, following primary infection, remains latent in CD4+ T cells and determines a persistent rather than a latent infection in various tissues and organs, including the lung and skin. This paper describes the development of an in-house light upon extension real-time PCR assay for quantification of human herpesvirus 7 DNA in clinical samples. The efficiency, sensitivity, specificity, inter- and intra-assay variability, and dynamic range have been determined. Subsequently, the assay has been validated by evaluating the human herpesvirus 7 load in bronchoalveolar lavages and skin specimens, chosen as 2 persistency sites, from healthy and pathological individuals. The real-time PCR assay developed in this study could be a useful tool to detect and quantify human herpesvirus 7 DNA in different clinical specimens to elucidate its epidemiological and pathogenic roles.

2000 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 1992-1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene E. White ◽  
Thomas B. Campbell

A real-time PCR assay for quantitation of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV or human herpesvirus 8) DNA was evaluated. The linear dynamic range was 10 to 105 copies of KSHV DNA (r 2 > 0.99). The accuracy of DNA purification and quantitation was less than ±0.4 log10copies for samples that contained from 10 to 105 copies of KSHV DNA. Cell-associated KSHV DNA was quantitated over a range of infected cell frequencies from 0.1 to 10−5, and cell-free KSHV DNA in plasma was quantitated over a range of 100 to 106 copies/ml. Real-time PCR provides a convenient method for quantitation of cell-free and cell-associated KSHV DNA in laboratory and clinical specimens.


2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (7) ◽  
pp. 1133-1139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanah Kim ◽  
Mina Hur ◽  
Eunsin Bae ◽  
Kyung-A Lee ◽  
Woo-In Lee

Abstract Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) is important for the diagnosis and management of HBV infection. We evaluated the analytical performance of the cobas HBV NAAT (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany) on the cobas 4800 System in comparison with COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HBV Test (CAP/CTM HBV). Methods: Precision was evaluated using three levels of cobas HBV/HCV/HIV-1 Control Kit, and linearity was evaluated across the anticipated measuring range (10.0–1.0×109 IU/mL) at seven levels using clinical samples. Detection capability, including limit of blank (LOB), limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ), was verified using the 4th WHO International Standard for HBV DNA for NAT (NIBSC code: 10/266). Correlation between the two systems was compared using 205 clinical samples (102 sera and 103 EDTA plasma). Results: Repeatability and total imprecision (coefficient of variation) ranged from 0.5% to 3.8% and from 0.5% to 3.5%, respectively. Linearity (coefficient of determination, R2) was 0.999. LOB, LOD and LOQ were all acceptable within the observed proportion rate (85%). Correlation was very high between the two systems in both serum and plasma samples (correlation coefficient [r]=0.995). Conclusions: The new cobas HBV real-time PCR assay on the cobas 4800 System showed reliable analytical performances.


2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. e01986-20
Author(s):  
Ibne Karim M. Ali ◽  
Shantanu Roy

ABSTRACTThere are over 40 species within the genus Entamoeba, eight of which infect humans. Of these, four species (Entamoeba histolytica, E. dispar, E. moshkovskii, and E. bangladeshi) are morphologically indistinguishable from each other, and yet differentiation is important for appropriate treatment decisions. Here, we developed a hydrolysis probe-based tetraplex real-time PCR assay that can simultaneously detect and differentiate these four species in clinical samples. In this assay, multicopy small-subunit (SSU) ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences were used as targets. We determined that the tetraplex real-time PCR can detect amebic DNA corresponding to as little as a 0.1 trophozoite equivalent of any of these species. We also determined that this assay can detect E. histolytica DNA in the presence of 10-fold more DNA from another Entamoeba species in mixed-infection scenarios. With a panel of more than 100 well-characterized clinical samples diagnosed and confirmed using a previously published duplex real-time PCR (capable of detecting E. histolytica and E. dispar), our tetraplex real-time PCR assay demonstrated levels of sensitivity and specificity comparable with those demonstrated by the duplex real-time PCR assay. The advantage of our assay over the duplex assay is that it can specifically detect two additional Entamoeba species and can be used in conventional PCR format. This newly developed assay will allow further characterization of the epidemiology and pathogenicity of the four morphologically identical Entamoeba species, especially in low-resource settings.


1999 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 1941-1947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander J. Ryncarz ◽  
James Goddard ◽  
Anna Wald ◽  
Meei-Li Huang ◽  
Bernard Roizman ◽  
...  

We have developed a high-throughput, semiautomated, quantitative fluorescence-based PCR assay to detect and type herpes simplex virus (HSV) DNA in clinical samples. The detection assay, which uses primers to the type-common region of HSV glycoprotein B (gB), was linear from <10 to 108 copies of HSV DNA/20 μl of sample. Among duplicate samples in reproducibility runs, the assay showed less than 5% variability. We compared the fluorescence-based PCR assay with culture and gel-based liquid hybridization system with 335 genital tract specimens from HSV type 2 (HSV-2)-seropositive persons attending a research clinic and 380 consecutive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples submitted to a diagnostic virology laboratory. Among the 162 culture-positive genital tract specimens, TaqMan PCR was positive for 157 (97%) specimens, whereas the quantitative-competitive PCR was positive for 144 (89%) specimens. Comparisons of the mean titer of HSV DNA detected by the two assays revealed that the mean titer detected by the gel-based system was slightly higher (median, 1 log). These differences in titers were in part related to the fivefold difference in the amount of HSV DNA used in the amplicon standards with the two assays. Among the 380 CSF samples, 42 were positive by both assays, 13 were positive only by the assay with the agarose gel, and 3 were positive only by the assay with the fluorescent probe. To define the subtype of HSV DNA detected in the screening assay, we also designed one set of primers which amplifies the gG regions of both types of HSV and probes which are specific to either HSV-1 (gG1) or HSV-2 (gG2). These probes were labeled with different fluorescent dyes (6-carboxyfluorescein for gG2 and 6-hexachlorofluorescein for gG1) to enable detection in a single PCR. In mixing experiments the probes discriminated the correct subtype in mixtures with up to a 7-log-higher concentration of the opposite subtype. The PCR typing results showed 100% concordance with the results obtained by assays with monoclonal antibodies against HSV-1 or HSV-2. Thus, while the real-time PCR is slightly less sensitive than the gel-based liquid hybridization system, the high throughput, the lack of contamination during processing, the better reproducibility, and the better ability to type the isolates rapidly make the real-time PCR a valuable tool for clinical investigation and diagnosis of HSV infection.


Plant Disease ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 103 (6) ◽  
pp. 1084-1091
Author(s):  
Na Liu ◽  
Yu Lei ◽  
Min Zhang ◽  
Wenming Zheng ◽  
Yongchun Shi ◽  
...  

Wheat powdery mildew, caused by the fungal pathogen Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici, is one of the most destructive wheat diseases in China, especially in Sichuan Province. Successfully oversummered B. graminis f. sp. tritici can become a primary infection source for wheat seedlings in the fall. Determining the latent infection level of B. graminis f. sp. tritici in volunteer wheat and the oversummering areas of B. graminis f. sp. tritici is important for estimating potential B. graminis f. sp. tritici epidemics. In this study, we clarified the critical role of volunteer wheat in the B. graminis f. sp. tritici oversummering cycle and determined whether latent B. graminis f. sp. tritici infection was present in volunteer wheat by using real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR). The results indicated that volunteer wheat was mostly found in the northeast and middle regions of Sichuan, where lower temperatures and higher precipitation are common. A total of 13.2% of samples showed symptoms of B. graminis f. sp. tritici (spores) in the field, and 36.8% of samples were found to carry the B. graminis f. sp. tritici pathogen, even though no symptoms were observed. Volunteer wheat with B. graminis f. sp. tritici infection symptoms was found at an altitude of 536 m but volunteer wheat latently infected by B. graminis f. sp. tritici was identified at the lowest altitude of 323 m. Crop shade (e.g., corn and lima bean) provided suitable conditions for the survival of volunteer wheat in the summer. In addition, volunteer wheat played a key role in the B. graminis f. sp. tritici oversummering cycle. Moreover, B. graminis f. sp. tritici could oversummer by infecting generations of volunteer wheat in the summer, thereby becoming the primary infection source for autumn-sown wheat. The results showed that the latent infection of wheat diseases could be rapidly quantified by real-time PCR. Here, the primary disease center of autumn-sown wheat in Ya’an and Wenjiang were detected accurately based on this method. This study provides solid evidence for identifying the disease center, which offers guidance for wheat disease control and management.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Christian Diamant Mossoro-Kpinde ◽  
Ralph-Sydney Mboumba Bouassa ◽  
Mohammad-Ali Jenabian ◽  
Serge Tonen Wolyec ◽  
Leman Robin ◽  
...  

Objectives. We evaluated the performances of Amplix real-time PCR platform developed by Biosynex (Strasbourg, France), combining automated station extraction (Amplix station 16 Dx) and real-time PCR (Amplix NG), for quantifying plasma HIV-1 RNA by lyophilized HIV-1 RNA-based Amplix reagents targeting gag and LTR, using samples from HIV-1-infected adults from Central African Republic. Results. Amplix real-time PCR assay showed low limit of detection (28 copies/mL), across wide dynamic range (1.4–10 log copies/mL), 100% sensitivity and 99% specificity, high reproducibility, and accuracy with mean bias < 5%. The assay showed excellent correlations and concordance of 95.3% with the reference HIV-1 RNA load assay (Roche), with mean absolute bias of +0.097 log copies/mL by Bland-Altman analysis. The assay was able to detect and quantify the most prevalent HIV-1 subtype strains and the majority of non-B subtypes, CRFs of HIV-1 group M, and HIV-1 groups N and O circulating in Central Africa. The Amplix assay showed 100% sensitivity and 99.6% specificity to diagnose virological failure in clinical samples from antiretroviral drug-experienced patients. Conclusions. The HIV-1 RNA-based Amplix real-time PCR platform constitutes sensitive and reliable system for clinical monitoring of HIV-1 RNA load in HIV-1-infected children and adults, particularly adapted to intermediate laboratory facilities in sub-Saharan Africa.


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