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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, October 2005, p. 5003-5008, Vol. 43, No. 10
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JCM.43.10.5003-5008.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
The Clinical Research Institute, St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic Hemopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Center, The Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine, Seoul 150-713, Korea,1 Water Quality Analysis Team I, International Water Analysis Center, Korea Water Resources Corporation, Daejeon 306-711, Korea,2 Department of Microbiology, Natural Sciences College, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763, Korea3
Received 6 December 2004/ Returned for modification 28 January 2005/ Accepted 1 August 2005
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There are two types of methods for assessing the susceptibility of HCMV to GCV: one is genotypic and detects the resistance-related mutant genes, and the other is phenotypic and assesses resistance directly (3, 13). The genotypic methods include DNA sequencing, detection of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP), and probe-specific and primer-specific hybridization. DNA sequencing is the reference method for detecting resistance-related GCV mutations, and RFLP has been widely used to detect GCV resistance due to mutations in the UL97 gene (4, 7). Although genotypic tests are fast, phenotypic tests are necessary to detect novel mutations and mutations in the UL54 DNA polymerase gene. Examples of phenotypic tests are the plaque reduction assay (PRA), in situ enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, DNA reduction assay, and flow cytometry-based assay. The flow cytometric assay counts trypsinized fibroblasts expressing the HCMV antigen using a fluorochrome-labeled antibody and has the advantage that automation and quantitation are feasible (16, 18, 20).
PRA is the gold standard for evaluating the drug susceptibility of a virus. For HCMV, it consists of counting the number of viral plaques on fibroblasts. However, this conventional phenotypic assay is time-consuming and labor-intensive and requires highly skilled laboratory technicians (17, 25). This is because most clinical isolates examined grow slowly, so that it takes a long time to obtain the required virus titers (12). To overcome these shortcomings, Prix et al. and Landry et al. have reported a method without the titration step of classical PRA (17, 23).
We have modified and applied the method of mixed culture of cell-associated viruses to flow cytometric analysis and have compared this new time-saving fluorescence-activated cell sorting (TS-FACS) analysis with PRA. We have also assessed whether TS-FACS analysis could be used as a GCV susceptibility test for clinical HCMV isolates.
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Clinical isolates. Three milliliters of blood was obtained from patients who were suspected of having a GCV-resistant HCMV infection and transferred to a 15-ml conical tube (Becton Dickinson Labware, Franklin Lakes, NJ). The blood was centrifuged at 800 x g for 15 min, the plasma layer was taken, 0.2 ml of this was used to infect fresh HFF prepared in advance, and fresh medium was substituted after 3 h. Plasma was collected separately, and to the remaining fraction containing blood cells was added phosphate-buffered saline (PBS; Sigma Diagnostics Inc., St. Louis, MO), adjusted to a final volume of 6 ml. This was loaded carefully, without disturbing the layers, into a 15-ml tube containing 3 ml Histopaque 1119 (Sigma Diagnostics Inc.). After centrifugation at 700 x g for 30 min, the white blood cell band formed above the Histopaque was transferred to a new 15-ml tube with a Pasteur pipette, washed with 10 ml PBS, and centrifuged at 800 x g for 10 min. The supernatant was removed, and the remaining cell pellet was washed with 5 ml PBS and centrifuged at 800 x g for 5 min. This was repeated twice, to yield the white blood cells. The cells were counted by the Trypan blue exclusion assay, and approximately 2 x 106 cells were inoculated into prepared HFF. The medium was changed every 4 to 5 days, and if CPE was detected, the cells were cultured with 2% FBS in DMEM until plaques formed. These plaques were then mixed with uninfected fresh HFF and cultured in T25 tissue culture flasks.
Plaque reduction assay. The classical plaque reduction assay was performed by culturing fresh HFF in 35-mm culture plates and infecting them with virus. The cells were washed with PBS and overlaid with the appropriate concentration of GCV (Roche Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland) contained in semisolid medium consisting of DMEM plus 2% FBS, 0.25% SeaPlaque agarose (Cambrex Bio Science, Rockland, ME), 100 units/ml penicillin (JBI), 100 µg/ml streptomycin (JBI), and 250 ng/ml amphotericin B (JBI). Approximately 7 days later, a second overlay of the same semisolid medium containing various concentrations of GCV was added. When plaques had formed, the cells were fixed with 10% formalin in 0.85% saline solution. The fixed-cell monolayer was stained with 0.03% methylene blue, and the plaques were counted with a light microscope (BH-2; Olympus Corporation, Tokyo, Japan).
TS-FACS analysis. The overall process is illustrated in Fig. 1. When the CPE had spread over 50% of the T25 flask containing the mixed culture, the culture supernatant and infected cells were collected in a tube. Fresh HFF grown in 100-mm culture plates were suspended in 10 ml and divided into two tubes. HCMV-infected cells (0.2 or 1 ml) were mixed well with the uninfected cells and plated in six-well plates. Approximately 5 to 6 h later, when the cells had attached to the culture plates, GCV was added at concentrations of 0, 1, 3, 10, 30, or 100 µM. Three to four days later the cells were detached by trypsinization, and samples of 105 cells were added to 1-ml microcentrifuge tubes. The cells were washed once with PBS, fixed with 500 µl 0.2% paraformaldehyde (Sigma Diagnostics Inc.) at room temperature for 1 h, and exposed to 500 µl 0.2% Tween 20 (J. T. Baker, Phillipsburg, NJ) for 20 min for permeabilization. After being washed with 1 ml PBS, they were suspended in 100 µl PBS, and 1 drop of mouse anti-HCMV immediate-early (IE) protein fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated antibody (MAB 5090; Chemicon, Temecula, CA) was added according to the manufacturer's instructions, and incubation continued for 40 min in the dark at room temperature. The cells were then washed twice with 1 ml PBS and resuspended in 200 µl PBS, flow cytometric analysis was performed with a FACScalibur (BD Biosciences, San Jose, CA), and results were analyzed with Cell Quest (BD Biosciences). The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) was the median concentration that caused 50% inhibition of IE gene expression relative to that in the control HCMV-infected cells. All experiments were performed three times independently. GCV resistance was defined as cells with an IC50 exceeding 6 µM to 12 µM GCV (6, 7, 14).
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FIG. 1. Schematic diagram of time-saving flow cytometry. Cells infected with HCMV were mixed with fresh human foreskin fibroblasts in two ratios, cultured in six-well culture plates, and treated with ganciclovir at the concentrations indicated. Three or four days later, time-saving flow cytometry was performed using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated anti-HCMV immediate-early antigen.
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Nucleotide sequence accession numbers. GenBank accession numbers for the HCMV isolates are as follows: SM301, AY729049; SM302, AY729050; SM303, AY659927; SM304, AY659928; and SM305, AY727868.
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FIG. 2. Examination of changes of HCMV immediate-early gene expression by time-saving flow cytometry. Examination of the expression of the immediate-early antigen of HCMV-infected cells with increasing MOI (a) and ganciclovir concentration (b) (GCV = 0 means no GCV added). The x axis is the expression of the immediate-early gene, and the y axis is default. The percentages displayed on each graph are the percentages of cells staining for the immediate-early antigen.
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FIG. 3. Percent inhibition of expression of the immediate-early gene in HCMV AD169 and clinical isolates treated with ganciclovir. Panels a, b, d, and e show ganciclovir-sensitive isolates, as less than 3 µM was generally sufficient to reduce expression by over 50%, and panels c and f show ganciclovir-resistant isolates, as over 10 and 30 µM, respectively, are required. a, AD169; b, SM301; c, SM302; d, SM303; e, SM304; f, SM305. Log concentration of GCV (µM) = 0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5 means that the concentration of GCV is 1, 3, 10, and 30 µM, respectively.
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TABLE 1. Comparison of time-saving flow cytometry and the plaque reduction assay for determining the ganciclovir IC50 values of laboratory strain AD169 and clinical isolates
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FIG. 4. Regression plot of percent inhibition by plaque reduction assay versus time-saving flow cytometry. Closed circles, AD169; open circles, SM301; closed inverted triangles, SM302; open inverted triangles, SM303; closed squares, SM304; open squares, SM305. The solid line is the regression line, and the dotted lines are the 95% confidence limits for the regression line. The data analysis was done by using the software SigmaPlot Windows version 7.0 (SPSS Inc.).
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FIG. 5. Alignment of partial amino acid sequences and the schematic diagram of UL97 containing ganciclovir resistance-related mutations. The amino acid sequences are aligned by using ClustalW (version 1.82 at the European Bioinformatics Institute website above) and BOXSHADE (version 3.21 in Swiss EMBnet), and the schematic diagram shows various ganciclovir resistance-related mutations including *a, M460V (methionine to valine at amino acid 460), and *b, D605E (aspartic acid to glutamic acid). GenBank accession numbers are as follows: AD169, X17403; SM301, AY29049; SM302, AY29050; SM303, AY659927; SM304, AY659928; and SM305, AY272868.
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In our experiment, to reduce the time required for plaque formation, we used HCMV-infected cells as inoculum and mixed them with uninfected HFF. In addition, to decrease fluctuations due to variation in the ratio of HCMV-infected to uninfected cells, we established the required input volume of HCMV-infected cells for TS-FACS analysis from various experimental data and reference 23. We also used a fluorescent antibody against the HCMV IE gene product. The time required to obtain IC50 values by TS-FACS was 2 to 3 weeks, apart from the time for tube culture, while PRA requires at least twice as long. The TS-FACS analysis itself took only about a week. Also, since the data collection step of TS-FACS analysis is automated, if investigators are properly trained in its use the analysis is objective and hence more reproducible.
For isolate SM305, GCV IC50 values from PRA and TS-FACS analysis were high and similar (Table 1). In addition, in the genotypic test, although no known resistance mutation was detected in UL97, isolate SM302 was resistant to GCV by both methods. Therefore, phenotypic tests like TS-FACS analysis are needed to suggest the possibility of novel mutations and mutations in the UL54 DNA polymerase gene. For the sensitive isolate SM304, the IC50 from the PRA method was somewhat lower than that from the TS-FACS analysis.
Overall the results obtained by TS-FACS analysis were not substantially different from those obtained by PRA. There was an excellent statistical correlation between TS-FACS analysis and PRA by independent sample t test (P < 0.05) and multiple regression plot analysis (r2 = 0.729, P < 0.0001). The reason for the excellent r2 value may be that we defined the input of HCMV-infected cells in the mixtures with uninfected cells.
Clinical HCMV isolates are not like laboratory strains that form plaques readily. In assessing the resistance of HCMV to GCV or other antiviral agents in the clinic, fast and accurate methods are required. By performance of TS-FACS analysis as a phenotypic assay in parallel with RFLP and sequencing as genotypic assays, GCV resistance mutations that have been already identified as well as novel mutations can be identified rapidly, simply, and accurately (Fig. 6).
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FIG. 6. Illustration of the genotypic and phenotypic tests for ganciclovir susceptibility of HCMV isolates employed in the Catholic University Hemopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Center.
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Tyr change in the UL97 phosphotransferase confers ganciclovir resistance to two human cytomegalovirus strains recovered from two immunocompromised patients. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 42:444-446.
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