A new polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based flow cytometry test, called the PCR-immunoreactive bead (IRB) assay, provides a simple and reliable early diagnosis of perinatal HIV infection, according to a multicenter group.
Based on their previous research on heminested PCR used for hepatitis B and C viruses, Dr. Alejandro Dorenbaum of the University of California in San Francisco and colleagues developed a PCR-IRB for flow cytometric detection of HIV-1 proviral DNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).
To validate the new assay, they performed a retrospective study using samples from 50 infants and a prospective study of 14 mother-infant pairs. The results of the retrospective study, in which samples with known results of standard PCR were used, showed that the PCR-IRB findings using long terminal repeat region or LTR, but not gag, were in agreement. The results of the prospective study using PCR-IRB of LTR yielded findings that were similar to the commercial Amplicor HIV-1 PCR test and were consistent with the clinical outcomes.
Dr. Dorenbaum's team believes that the PCR-IRB assay will be useful in the early diagnosis of perinatal HIV infection in clinical practice and regional screening programs.
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