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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, August 2000, p. 2837-2845, Vol. 38, No. 8
Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology
and Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University
of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota1;
New England Research Institutes, Watertown,
Massachusetts2; Rush
Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago,
Illinois4; Department of Pathology,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore,
Maryland5; Bayer Nucleic Acid
Diagnostics, Emeryville, California6;
Department of Clinical Pathology, Cleveland Clinic,
Cleveland, Ohio7; Department of
Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle,
Washington8; and the Virology Quality
Assurance Laboratory Program, Division of AIDS, National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda,
Maryland3
Received 27 March 2000/Accepted 10 May 2000
The QUANTIPLEX HIV-1 RNA assay, version 3.0 (a branched DNA,
version 3.0, assay [bDNA 3.0 assay]), was evaluated by analyzing spiked and clinical plasma samples and was compared with the AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR Ultrasensitive (ultrasensitive reverse transcription-PCR [US-RT-PCR]) method. A panel of spiked plasma samples that contained 0 to 750,000 copies of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA
per ml was tested four times in each of four laboratories (1,344 assays). Negative results (<50 copies/ml) were obtained in 30 of 32 (94%) assays with seronegative samples, 66 of 128 (52%) assays with
HIV-1 RNA at 50 copies/ml, and 5 of 128 (4%) assays with HIV-1 RNA at
100 copies/ml. The assay was linear from 100 to 500,000 copies/ml. The
within-run standard deviation (SD) of the log10 estimated
HIV-1 RNA concentration was 0.08 at 1,000 to 500,000 copies/ml,
increased below 1,000 copies/ml, and was 0.17 at 100 copies/ml.
Between-run reproducibility at 100 to 500 copies/ml was <0.10
log10 in most comparisons. Interlaboratory differences
across runs were
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Performance Characteristics of the QUANTIPLEX HIV-1
RNA 3.0 Assay for Detection and Quantitation of Human Immunodeficiency
Virus Type 1 RNA in Plasma
,*
0.10 log10 at all concentrations examined. A subset of the panel (25 to 500 copies/ml) was also analyzed
by the US-RT-PCR assay. The within-run SD varied inversely with the
log10 HIV-1 RNA concentration but was higher than the SD
for the bDNA 3.0 assay at all concentrations. Log-log regression analysis indicated that the two methods produced very similar estimates
at 100 to 500 copies/ml. In parallel testing of clinical specimens with
low HIV-1 RNA levels, 80 plasma samples with <50 copies/ml by the
US-RT-PCR assay had <50 copies/ml when they were retested by the bDNA
3.0 assay. In contrast, 11 of 78 (14%) plasma samples with <50
copies/ml by the bDNA 3.0 assay had
50 copies/ml when they were
retested by the US-RT-PCR assay (median, 86 copies/ml; range, 50 to 217 copies/ml). Estimation of bDNA 3.0 values of <50 copies/ml by
extending the standard curve of the assay showed that these samples
with discrepant results had higher HIV-1 RNA levels than the samples
with concordant results (median, 34 versus 17 copies/ml;
P = 0.0051 by the Wilcoxon two-sample test). The excellent reproducibility, broad linear range, and good sensitivity of
the bDNA 3.0 assay make it a very attractive method for quantitation of
HIV-1 RNA levels in plasma.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: University of
Minnesota, Box 437 Mayo, 420 Delaware St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Phone: (612) 626-0920. Fax: (612) 625-5468. E-mail:
erice001{at}tc.umn.edu.
Members of the Virology Subcommittee of the Adult AIDS Clinical
Trials Group HIV Disease Research Agenda Committee.
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