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Development of a low-cost real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction technique for the detection and quantification of hepatitis C viral load

  • Kiana Shahzamani , Shahin Merat , Houri Rezvan , Siamak Mirab-Samiee , Hooman Khademi , Reza Malekzadeh and Farzaneh Sabahi
Published/Copyright: March 11, 2010

Abstract

Background: It is necessary to develop a highly specific and sensitive assay to quantify the exact amount of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in blood of patients with hepatitis C. For this reason, a real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay for quantification of HCV RNA in human plasma was developed.

Methods: A pair of primers as well as hybridization probes were selected. A real-time RT-PCR was set up and optimized. To establish the sensitivity of the assay, a serial dilution of HCV standards and reference sera, including the six major HCV genotypes, was used. The performance of the assay was evaluated with 191 known HCV-RNA positive and 100 negative samples.

Results: The real-time assay had a sensitivity of 50 IU/mL, with a dynamic range of detection between 103 and 106 IU/mL. The coefficients of variation of threshold cycle values in intra- and inter-day-runs were <1.77% and 3.40%, respectively. Measurement of HCV-RNA positive samples yielded reproducible data with 100% specificity.

Conclusions: The high sensitivity, simplicity, reproducibility, wide dynamic range, and low cost of this real-time HCV RNA quantification makes this method especially suitable for monitoring viral load during therapy and tailoring of treatment schedules accordingly.

Clin Chem Lab Med 2010;48:777–84.


Corresponding author: Farzaneh Sabahi, PhD, Department of Virology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 14115-331, Tehran, Iran Phone: +98 21 8288 3880, Fax: +98 21 8288 4555,

Received: 2009-11-21
Accepted: 2010-1-8
Published Online: 2010-03-11
Published in Print: 2010-06-01

©2010 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York

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