Quantification of parathyroid hormone-related protein mRNA by competitive PCR and time-resolved lanthanide fluorometry.

Using dissociation and enhancement time-resolved lanthanide fluorometry, we have developed a quantitative competitive (QC)-PCR for measuring parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) mRNA after reverse transcription. A cloned PTHrP cDNA target was also modified by deletion of 10 bp and insertion of 21 bp in the midregion of the fragment and cloned for use as a competitor (i.e., internal standard). Two primers spanning 362 bp of target and 373 bp of competitor were designed and one of the primers was biotinylated. Two oligonucleotide probes, one recognizing the target and the other hybridizing to the competitor, were labeled with Eu chelate. Two equal aliquots of PCR products were assayed with each probe separately in streptavidin-coated wells. After 35 PCR cycles, the competitor signal decreased exponentially (y = e(3.74 - 0.624x); r2 = 0.965) and the target signal increased exponentially (y = e(1.14 + 0.497x); r2 = 0.984) when 1000 copies/tube of the competitor and 0-100,000 copies/tube of the target DNA were added. Log-transformed data for the ratio of target to competitor signals (y) and the copies of the target DNA added (x) were used for plotting the linear calibration curve (y = 2.79 + 2.76x; r2 = 0.976). This QC-PCR enables analysis of multiple samples simultaneously and can be used to study PTHrP gene expression in malignancy and physiology.