Interlaboratory Evaluation of a New Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction–Based Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for the Detection of Circulating Melanoma Cells: A Multicenter Study of the Dermatologic Cooperative Oncology Group

2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1723-1727 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Reinhold ◽  
C. Berkin ◽  
A.-K. Bosserhoff ◽  
A. Deutschmann ◽  
C. Garbe ◽  
...  

PURPOSE: Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)–based detection of tyrosinase mRNA is the most frequently used laboratory method for the detection of circulating tumor cells in melanoma patients. However, previously published results showed considerable variability in the PCR positivity rates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We designed a collaborative study to assess the sensitivity, specificity, and clinical relevance of a new standardized RT-PCR–based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of circulating melanoma cells. Blood samples of healthy donors mixed with cells of a melanoma cell line were prepared in a blinded fashion, and aliquots were sent to seven participating laboratories experienced in RT-PCR. RESULTS: The results demonstrate a high sensitivity (1 melanoma cell/mL blood) and specificity (no false-negatives and 7.4% [2 of 28] false-positives) of the assay and a satisfactory rate of interlaboratory reproducibility. The analysis of aliquots of blinded samples derived from 60 melanoma patients identified tyrosinase mRNA in 17 of 60 (28.3%): three (20%) of 15 stage I patients, two (13.3%) of 15 stage II patients, five (35.7%) of 14 stage III patients, and seven (43.8%) of 16 stage IV patients. The interlaboratory reproducibility of positive samples, however, was extremely low and indicates the presence of low amounts of target mRNA. CONCLUSION: Reverse transcriptase-PCR ELISA has a high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of tyrosinase mRNA in peripheral blood cells. The low interlaboratory reproducibility for the detection of tumor cells in blood samples of melanoma patients, however, raises the question of relevance of this assay for clinical use.

Intervirology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Salman Khan ◽  
Syed Asad Ali Shah ◽  
Syed Muhammad Jamal

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an infectious and highly contagious disease of cloven-hoofed domestic and wild animals, causing heavy economic losses to the livestock industry. Rapid and reliable diagnosis of the disease is essential for the implementation of effective control measures. This study compared sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (S-ELISA) and conventional reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the diagnosis of FMD. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A total of 60 epithelial samples from suspected cases of FMD were tested using both S-ELISA and RT-PCR assays. The level of agreement between the assays was assessed by calculating the Kappa value. <b><i>Results:</i></b> S-ELISA detected 38 (63%) samples positive for FMD virus (FMDV). Being predominant, serotype O was detected in 22 (57.9%) of the total samples tested positive, whereas 9 (23.7%) and 7 (18.4%) samples were found positive for serotypes A and Asia-1, respectively. RT-PCR detected viral genome in 51 (85%) of the samples using pan-FMDV primers set, 1F/1R. Thirty-six samples were found positive and 7 negative by both the tests. The level of agreement between the tests was assessed by calculating the Kappa value, which was found to be fair (Kappa value = 0.303 and 95% CI = 0.089; 0.517) and significant (<i>p</i> = 0.009). However, 2 samples, which were found positive on S-ELISA tested negative on RT-PCR. This may be attributed to the presence of nucleotide mismatch(es) in the primer-binding sites that may have resulted in failure of amplification of the viral genome. The serotype-specific RT-PCR assays not only confirmed serotyping results of S-ELISA but were also able to establish serotype in 9 S-ELISA-negative but pan-FMDV RT-PCR-positive samples. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The RT-PCR assay contributes significantly to establishing a quick, sensitive, and definitive diagnosis of FMD in resource-constrained countries. Samples giving negative results in S-ELISA should be tested in RT-PCR for the disease detection and virus typing.


2003 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 767-773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Palmieri ◽  
Paolo A. Ascierto ◽  
Francesco Perrone ◽  
Sabrina M.R. Satriano ◽  
Alessandro Ottaiano ◽  
...  

Purpose: Factors that are predictive of prognosis in patients who are diagnosed with malignant melanoma (MM) are widely awaited. Detection of circulating melanoma cells (CMCs) by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has recently been postulated as a possible negative prognostic factor. Two main questions were addressed: first, whether the presence of CMCs, defined as the patient being positive for any of the three markers, had a prognostic role; and second, what the predictive value of each individual marker was. Patients and Methods: A consecutive series of 200 melanoma patients observed between January 1997 and December 1997, with stage of disease ranging from I to IV, was analyzed by semiquantitative RT-PCR. Tyrosinase, p97, and MelanA/MART1 were used as markers to CMCs on baseline peripheral blood samples. Progression-free survival (PFS) was used as a unique end point and was described by the product limit method. Multivariable analysis was applied to verify whether the auspicated prognostic value of these markers was independent of the stage of disease, and a subgroup analysis was performed that excluded patients with stage IV disease. Results: Overall, 32% (64 of 200) of patients progressed, and a median PFS of 52 months in the whole series was observed. The presence of CMCs and the markers individually or combined was predictive of prognosis in the univariate analysis but did not provide additional prognostic information to the stage of disease in multivariable models. In the subgroup analysis of stage (ie, I–III subgroup), similar results were observed. Conclusion: Detection of CMCs in peripheral blood samples at the time of MM diagnosis by semiquantitative RT-PCR does not add any significant predictive value to the stage of disease. Thus, this approach should not be used in clinical practice, and further studies are required to determine its usefulness.


2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (35) ◽  
pp. 5742-5747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane A. Voit ◽  
Gregor Schäfer-Hesterberg ◽  
Martina Kron ◽  
Alexander C.J. van Akkooi ◽  
Juergen Rademaker ◽  
...  

Purpose This study analyzes (1) the value of tyrosinase reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of aspirates obtained by ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology (US-FNAC) of sentinel nodes (SNs) in patients with melanoma before sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) and (2) the value of RT-PCR of blood samples of all SLNB patients. Patients and Methods Between 2001 and 2003, 127 patients with melanoma (median Breslow depth, 2.1 mm) underwent SLNB. FNAC was performed in all SNs of all patients pre- and post-SLNB. The aspirates were partly shock-frozen for RT-PCR and were partly used for standard cytology. Peripheral blood was collected at the time of SLNB and at every outpatient visit thereafter. Results Thirty-four (23%) of 120 SNs were positive for melanoma. SN involvement was predicted by US-FNAC with a sensitivity of 82% and a specificity of 72%. Additional tyrosinase RT-PCR revealed the same sensitivity of 82% and a specificity of 72%. At a median follow-up time of 40 months from first blood sample, peripheral-blood RT-PCR was a significant independent predictor of disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS; P < .001). Conclusion US-FNAC is highly accurate and eliminates the need for SLNB in 16% of all SLNB patients. RT-PCR of the aspirate or excised SN does not improve sensitivity or specificity. RT-PCR of blood samples predicts DFS and OS.


1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 375-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Wolfaardt ◽  
C. L. Moe ◽  
W. O. K. Grabow

Norwalk (NV) and other small round structured viruses (SRSVs) have been identified as common causes of gastroenteritis. Outbreaks of Norwalk gastroenteritis have been associated with contaminated drinking water and food such as oysters and salads. The cloning and sequencing of the NV genome has made it possible to detect NV and related viruses by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We applied RT-PCR to detect SRSVs in faecal specimens from two gastroenteritis outbreaks in South Africa, designated “Christmas” and “Grootbrak” and were able to detect SRSVs in all of the three specimens from the Christmas outbreak and in two of 16 specimens from the Grootbrak outbreak. The RT-PCR procedure used appeared to be more sensitive for the detection of SRSVs in patient stool specimens than immune electron microscopy and NV antigen detection by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The RT-PCR procedure proved suitable for the detection of SRSVs in seeded samples of sewage, sewage sludge, river water, and tap water. However, sensitivity was lower for seeded samples of sewage and sludge than for tap water, which indicates interference by high levels of organic matter. The RT-PCR procedure was also used to show that small numbers of SRSVs can successfully be recovered from large volumes of water by means of a glass wool adsorption-elution method. Since no practical method is available for quantitation of the small numbers of SRSVs concerned, it was not possible to evaluate the efficiency of recovery. Although no SRSVs have been detected by direct testing of sewage and sludge samples, the results obtained in this study show that RT-PCR detection of SRSVs in sewage and polluted water environments is feasible, and that small numbers of the viruses can, like many other enteric viruses, successfully be recovered by means of a glass wool adsorption-elution method.


2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Abdoli ◽  
Mohammad Barati ◽  
Majid Pirestani ◽  
Abdolhossein Dalimi

Toxoplasmosis is an opportunistic infectious disease in immunocompromised patients, including cancer patients, whose detection is by molecular and serological methods. A total of 106 blood samples from patients with different types of cancer were evaluated for anti- Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM antibodies by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the parasite DNA by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). These were detected in 41.51% (44/106) and 0.94% (1/106), respectively, but T. gondii IgM antibody was not detected at all. These results suggest that the screening of toxoplasmosis should be considered more routinely in cancer patients.


1997 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 2701-2708 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Zippelius ◽  
P Kufer ◽  
G Honold ◽  
M W Köllermann ◽  
R Oberneder ◽  
...  

PURPOSE This study was designed to evaluate the potential of reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyses for the detection of micrometastatic carcinoma cells in bone marrow (BM). PATIENTS AND METHODS The specificity of RT-PCR assays with primers specific for various tumor-associated and organ-specific mRNA species was examined by analysis of 53 BM aspirates from control patients with no epithelial malignancy. In addition, BM samples from 63 patients with prostate cancer (n = 53) or breast cancer (n = 10) were analyzed by RT-PCR with primers specific for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) mRNA. As a reference method, all samples were analyzed simultaneously by an established immunocytochemical assay, using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against cytokeratins (CK) for tumor-cell detection. RESULTS Seven of eight marker species could be detected in a considerable number of BM samples from control patients: epithelial glycoprotein-40 (EGP-40; 53 of 53 samples), desmoplakin I (DPI I; five of five), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA; five of 19), erb-B2 (five of seven), erb-B3 (six of seven), prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSM; four of nine), and CK18 (five of seven). Only PSA mRNA was not detected in any of the 53 control BM samples. In serial dilution experiments, the PSA RT-PCR assay was able to detect five LNCaP prostate carcinoma cells in 4 x 10(6) BM cells. CK-positive cells were found in 20 patients (37.7%) with prostate cancer, while PSA mRNA was found in only 15 (28.3%; P = .04). Moreover, despite the recent observation that PSA is also expressed in mammary carcinomas, none of the 10 CK-positive BM samples were PSA mRNA-positive. CONCLUSION Limiting factors in the detection of micrometastatic tumor cells by RT-PCR are (1) the illegitimate transcription of tumor-associated or epithelial-specific genes in hematopoietic cells, and (2) the deficient expression of the marker gene in micrometastatic tumor cells.


2005 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 654-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laetitia Petit ◽  
Fabienne Baraige ◽  
Yves Bertheau ◽  
Philippe Brunschwig ◽  
Annick Diolez ◽  
...  

Abstract The fate of DNA and protein transgenic sequences in products derived from animals fed transgenic crops has recently raised public interest. Sensitive molecular tests targeting the Bt176 genetic construct and the transgenic Cry1Ab protein were developed to determine whether plant sequences, especially transgenic sequences, are present in animal products. A protocol for total DNA extraction and purification from cow whole blood samples was first drawn up and assessed by spiking with known amounts of DNA from Bt176 maize. The limit of detection for transgenic sequences (35S promoter and Bt176-specific junction sequence) was determined by both the polymerase chain reaction–enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (PCR–ELISA) and the 5′-nuclease PCR assay. Four additional PCR systems were built to substantiate the results. The first detects a mono-copy maize-specific sequence (ADH promoter). Two others target multi-copy sequences from plant nucleus (26S rRNA gene) and chloroplast (psaB gene). The last one, used as a positive control, targets a mono-copy animal sequence (αs1-casein gene). Both methods detected a minimum spiking at 25 copies of Bt176 maize/mL in 10 mL whole blood samples. The sandwich ELISA kit used detected down to 1 ng transgenic Cry1Ab protein/mL spiked whole blood.


Parasite ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuoyong Zhou ◽  
Yutong Wu ◽  
Yiwang Chen ◽  
Zhiying Wang ◽  
Shijun Hu ◽  
...  

Toxoplasmosis and anaplasmosis are severe zoonotic diseases, the former caused by Toxoplasma gondii and the latter by Anaplasma spp. In the present study, 332 goat blood samples were randomly collected from Chongqing Municipality, China to screen for T. gondii and Anaplasma spp. We used a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect DNA, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to test for T. gondii antibodies. The prevalence of T. gondii and Anaplasma spp. was 38% and 35% respectively by PCR, and 42% for T. gondii antibodies by ELISA. The co-infection rate by T. gondii and Anaplasma was 13%, where the two predominant pathogens co-infecting were Anaplasma phagocytophilum + A. bovis (10%), followed by T. gondii + A. phagocytophilum (9.64%). While co-infection by three pathogens varied ranging from 1.81% to 5.72%, less than 1% of goats were found to be positive for four pathogens. This is the first investigation of T. gondii and Anaplasma spp. infection in goats from Chongqing.


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