Home Impact of storage conditions on genetic analysis or viral load determination in clinical specimens
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Impact of storage conditions on genetic analysis or viral load determination in clinical specimens

  • Paolo Gravina , Marco Ciotti , Silvia Masini , Alessandra Valentini , Fabbio Marcuccilli , Nicoletta Croce , Giorgio Federici , Carlo Federico Perno and Sergio Bernardini
Published/Copyright: December 13, 2007
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Abstract

Background: Storage and shipment conditions of clinical specimens affect the quality of nucleic acids and may interfere with molecular analysis. The aim of our study was to verify whether blood storage at room temperature affects single nucleotide polymorphisms analysis; moreover, we analysed the consequences of serum storage at +4°C on viral load determination of hepatitis B and C viruses.

Methods: For single nucleotide polymorphism screening, genomic DNA was extracted from EDTA whole blood samples stored at room temperature for different times, quantified photometrically, and Factor V Leiden point mutation analysis was performed. For viral load determination, serum samples with medium or low viremias were stored at +4°C for different times and analysed by Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan tests for hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA or hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA.

Results: While mutation analysis was successfully performed on all samples tested, serum storage at +4°C of HBV- and HCV-infected sera decreased viral load, in particular for low viremias.

Conclusions: Storage of blood samples at room temperature up to 1 month does not affect the feasibility of genetic analysis, while serum storage at +4°C affects viral load.

Clin Chem Lab Med 2008;46:280–2.


Corresponding author: Gravina Paolo, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, via Montpellier 13, 00133 Rome, Italy Fax: +39-06-20902357,

Received: 2007-8-1
Accepted: 2007-9-14
Published Online: 2007-12-13
Published in Print: 2008-02-01

©2008 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Opinion Papers
  2. The double whammy of endogenous insulin antibodies in non-diabetic subjects
  3. ‘Likelihood-ratio’ and ‘odds’ applied to monitoring of patients as a supplement to ‘reference change value’ (RCV)
  4. Genetics and Molecular Diagnostics
  5. A family with multiple mutations and sequence variations in the α- and β-globin gene clusters
  6. CTLA-4 polymorphism 49A–G is associated with placental abruption and preeclampsia in Finnish women
  7. Rare TA repeats in promoter TATA box of the UDP glucuronosyltranferase (UGT1A1) gene in Croatian subjects
  8. Association of high sensitive C-reactive protein with apolipoprotein E polymorphism in children and young adults: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study
  9. Relationship between thiolactonase activity and hyperhomocysteinemia according to MTHFR gene polymorphism in Tunisian Behçet's disease patients
  10. A rapid and sensitive method to detect specific human lymphocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles associated with celiac disease
  11. General Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
  12. Probing the redox activity of T-lymphocytes deposited at electrode surfaces with voltammetric methods
  13. Long-term prognostic value of midregional pro-adrenomedullin and C-terminal pro-endothelin-1 in patients with acute myocardial infarction
  14. Changes in serum fetuin-A and inflammatory markers levels in end-stage renal disease (ESRD): effect of a single session haemodialysis
  15. Modeling the variability of creatinine measurements improves estimates of the glomerular filtration rate
  16. Reference Values
  17. Age-related changes of plasma glycosaminoglycans
  18. Stability of heparin blood samples during transport based on defined pre-analytical quality goals
  19. Comparison of creatinine-based estimations of glomerular filtration rate in endurance athletes at rest
  20. Assay-dependent variability of serum insulin levels during oral glucose tolerance test: influence on reference intervals for insulin and on cut-off values for insulin sensitivity indices
  21. N-Terminal proB-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentrations in elite rugby players at rest and after active and passive recovery following strenuous training sessions
  22. Strenuous exercise activates growth factors and chemokines over-expression in human serum of top-level triathlon athletes during a competitive season
  23. Validation and Outcome Studies
  24. Usefulness of six non-proprietary indirect markers of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C
  25. Evaluation of a new Sebia isoelectrofocusing kit for α1-antitrypsin phenotyping with the Hydrasys® System
  26. Different biological matrices (serum and plasma) utilization in consolidation processes: evaluation of seven Access® immunoassays
  27. Evaluation of the GEM® Premier™ 4000: a compact blood gas CO-Oximeter and electrolyte analyzer for point-of-care and laboratory testing
  28. Impact of storage conditions on genetic analysis or viral load determination in clinical specimens
  29. Homocysteine measurement by Vitros® Microtip homocysteine assay
  30. Evaluation of a novel standardized system for collection and quantification of oral fluid
  31. Letters to the Editor
  32. Tumor necrosis factor-α G(–308)A promoter polymorphism, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 5A/6A gene variation, MMP-9 C(–1562)T promoter polymorphism and risk and extent of ischemic heart disease
  33. Polyethylene glycol interference in the Immulite prolactin assay: treatment of the calibrators with polyethylene glycol does not improve diagnostic accuracy
Downloaded on 7.10.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/CCLM.2008.038/html
Scroll to top button