Real-time Immuno-polymerase Chain Reaction Research Articles

Lowering the detection limits of HIV-1 viral load using real-time immuno-PCR for HIV-1 p24 antigen.

Presently, the assay that attains maximal sensitivity and dynamic range of HIV-1 viral copy number (50 copies per milliliter) is nucleic acid amplification of HIV RNA in plasma. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods for quantification of HIV-1 p24 antigen have been relatively insensitive. In this report, we show data that indicate real-time immuno-polymerase chain reaction (IPCR), a combination of the ELISA and PCR techniques, is more sensitive for HIV-1 p24 antigen detection than other currently reported methods. When derived from an IPCR standard curve, a dose response was observed from patient samples with known viral loads diluted within a 3-log range (1.68-6,514 viral RNA copies per milliliter). IPCR detected 42% (22/52) of patient samples that had fewer than 50 viral RNA copies per milliliter by reverse transcriptase-PCR. IPCR shows the potential to become the most analytically sensitive test available for determination of HIV-1 viral load by the detection of HIV-1 p24 antigen.

Assay of gliadin by real-time immunopolymerase chain reaction.

Patients with coeliac disease (gluten-sensitive enteropathy) are intolerant against gliadins from wheat and the respective proteins from related cereals and have to keep a lifelong gluten-free diet. For control of gliadin in gluten-free food sensitive assay techniques are necessary. We developed an immunopolymerase chain reaction (iPCR) assay for gliadin. In this technique immunological detection of gliadin by a monoclonal antibody R5 conjugated with an oligonucleotide is amplified by PCR. For quantification, iPCR was performed as real-time PCR (real-time iPCR) in one step. By means of real-time iPCR, the sensitivity of gliadin analysis was increased more than 30-fold above the level reached by enzyme immunoassay. Real time-iPCR using R5 directly conjugated with oligonucleotide was clearly more sensitive than real time-iPCR applying sequentially biotinylated R5, streptavidin, and biotinylated oligonucleotide. With directly conjugated R5 gliadin was detected at a concentration as low as 0.16 ng/mL corresponding to 16 microg gliadin/100 g food or 0.16 ppm (corresponding to 0.25 g of food extracted in 10 mL of solvent and 25-fold dilution of the extract prior to analysis). This is the first report applying the highly sensitive technique of iPCR for gliadin analysis. Furthermore, this is the first approach to perform real-time iPCR in one step without changing the reaction vessels after enzyme immunoassay for subsequent PCR analysis thus minimizing risks of contamination and loss of sensitivity.