Evaluation of a commercial real-time PCR assay for quantitation of Epstein-Barr virus DNA in different groups of patients

Evaluation of the Epstein-Barr Virus R-Gene Quantification Kit in Whole Blood with Different Extraction Methods and PCR Platforms

“…It should be noted that this good correlation was obtained although both assays used different quantification standards (Namalwa cells or composite plasmid) and different probe chemistry. From a medical point of view, the observed EBV DNA load results were in agreement with other studies that we and others have already published 9,20 : 100% of patients with acute uncomplicated IM showed an EBV DNA load in whole blood ranging between 2.9 and 4.5 log copies/ml in comparison with healthy EBV-seropositive individuals. The latter are less frequently EBV DNA positive in whole blood (one of seven and two of seven in the present study, depending on the test) and at a lower level: less than 3 log copies/ml.…”

“…This problem of accurately quantifying low EBV DNA load (ie, between 2 and 3 log copies/ml) has already been reported for other commercial or inhouse EBV DNA quantification assays tested with the previous EBV QCMD Proficiency panel 2002. 16,20,21 Together, these results emphasize that evaluating new commercial EBV DNA quantification assays relies both on quality controls and clinical studies. They also confirm that it is more important to monitor EBV DNA load in follow-up samples and to correlate its dynamic decrease or increase with clinical events rather than to base the interpretation of viral load on absolute EBV levels only.…”

JC virus DNA in the peripheral blood of renal transplant patients: A 1‐year prospective follow‐up in France

“…HCMV DNA was quantified on a Light Cycler 1.0 TM (Roche Diagnostics), as described previously [Mengelle et al, 2003]. EBV DNA was quantified using a Light Cycler EBV Quantification Kit1 (Roche Diagnostics), according to the manufacturer's instructions [Gulley et al, 2006;Hill et al, 2006;Kozic et al, 2006]. BKV DNA was quantified on a Light Cycler 2.0 TM (Roche Diagnostics), as described previously [Basse et al, 2007].…”

Comparison of commercial and in-house Real-time PCR assays for quantification of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA in plasma

“…In such cases, the EBV DNA load may be used as a surrogate disease activity marker with potential applications in clinical monitoring and prognostication. In order to determine the clinical significance of an EBV load, it might be better to monitor viral load dynamics in patients by quantification of EBV load in peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMCs), though EBV DNA is detectable during active infection for a longer period in whole blood than in plasma [23,24]. However, the real-time PCR protocol used in these assays is preferable for the quantification of viral load in plasma or liquor.…”