objective: hepatitis c virus is the major cause of viral hepatitis and its diagnosis in suspected specimens is of great importance. the risk of transfusion- transmitted virus infection is primarily the result of failure in serological screening tests to detect recently infected donors in the pre-seroconversion window period of infection. therefore, sensitive and accurate diagnosis of hcv prior ...

It is currently unknown if the use of a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) adds value to the diagnosis and follow-up prognosis of patients affected by leishmaniasis. We performed a study using a real-time PCR directed against the alpha-polymerase gene and a semiquantitative PCR that target the SSU ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene as control for the diagnosis and quantification of parasites in p...

Human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are positive-stranded RNA viruses belonging to the Enterovirus genus in the family of Picornaviridae. Identification of the specific strain in HRV disease has been difficult because the traditional serological method is insensitive, labor intensive, and cumbersome. With the fast progress in molecular biological technique, more sensitive and faster molecular methods hav...

The use of reverse transcription (RT) PCR for relative quantitation of gene transcripts relies on the reproducibility of the individual RT, PCR and product measurement steps. Semi-competitive RT-PCR (RT-cPCR) uses an internal competitor template in the PCR step to improve quantitation. We have surveyed the reproducibility of RT, PCR, RT-cPCR and measurement, amplifying the glyceraldehyde-3-phos...

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been suggested to play a role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, reports on detailed EBV transcript analyses in HCCs are limited. It was shown recently that expression of the transforming BARF1 (BamHI A rightward open reading frame 1) gene of EBV is restricted to latently EBV-infected epithelial malignancies, i.e. nasopharyngeal carcinoma and gastric carcin...

PURPOSE To investigate the expression and regulation of the short form of caspase-12, caspase-12S, in human retinal pigment epithelial (hRPE) cells. METHODS hRPE cells were stimulated by the proinflammatory agents IL-1beta (2 ng/mL) and TNF-alpha (20 ng/mL); LPS (1000 ng/mL); coculture with monocytes; the immunomodulating agent cyclosporine (Cys; 30 ng/mL); the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-1...

Right detection of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangement is pivotal to selection of patients with lung adenocarcinoma for ALK-targeted therapy. We explored the potential of combination of immunohistochemistry (IHC) screening and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) as an affordable practice. We analyzed 410 unselected lung adenocarcinomas by ALK IHC (D5F3 clone) and FISH. Som...