Evaluation of the Luminex ARIES® system for the detection and quantification of BK virus (BKV) DNA in plasma samples from kidney transplant recipients

Abstract

BK virus (BKV) nephropathy is a serious complication in renal transplant recipients due to the need for immunosuppression. Nearly 50% of renal transplant patients with BKV nephropathy experience a significant loss of function of the transplanted kidney. It is routine practice to screen renal transplant recipients regularly for BK viremia. In this study, we compared the performance of BKV quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyte specific reagents by ELITech and Luminex for measuring BKV viral load in plasma using the Roche Cobas® z480 instrument and the Luminex ARIES® platform, respectively. A total of 34 patients previously tested on the z480, with results spanning the test’s linear range, were analyzed on the ARIES®. The BKV DNA copy number correlation between the 2 methods was very good, with an R2 value of 0.96. The average difference in log copy number between the 2 methods was −0.3, indicating that the ARIES® method may have slightly greater analytical sensitivity. BKV quantification results were closely matched between the 2 different methods. The workflow with the ARIES® System is greatly simplified by elimination of DNA extraction and most hands-on steps. The high degree of automation allows samples to be tested as they arrive into the laboratory, resulting in enhanced patient care due to more rapid turnaround time for results back to the ordering physician.