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A technique for eliminating allele specific amplification failure during DNA amplification of heterozygous cells for preimplantation diagnosis.

Advances in techniques of molecular biology have made possible the amplification of specific genes from single cells. This has a major clinical application in preimplantation diagnosis of monogenic disorders. However, the incidence of allele specific amplification failure (allele drop out) in heterozygous single cells can lead to misdiagnosis and the transfer of affected embryos. Few studies have been done to investigate the actual cause of allele drop out, although some investigators have succeeded in reducing but not eliminating it. Here we report the efficiency of amplifying both alleles in heterozygous cells lysed according to two different protocols. A total of 177 heterozygous cells from carriers of cystic fibrosis (CF) and haemoglobin C (HbC) were lysed using two different lysis buffers. Interestingly none of the cells that were lysed with sodium dodecyl sulphate/proteinase K showed any example of allele specific amplification failure whereas in those lysed by KOH/dithiothreitol it was present in 17.6 and 4.7% of the CF and HbC cells respectively. Our results suggest that the phenomenon of allele specific amplification failure is at least in part dependent on the lysis buffer used.

Alleles↗

Signal amplification by rolling circle amplification on DNA microarrays.

While microarrays hold considerable promise in large-scale biology on account of their massively parallel analytical nature, there is a need for compatible signal amplification procedures to increase sensitivity without loss of multiplexing. Rolling circle amplification (RCA) is a molecular amplification method with the unique property of product localization. This report describes the application of RCA signal amplification for multiplexed, direct detection and quantitation of nucleic acid targets on planar glass and gel-coated microarrays. As few as 150 molecules bound to the surface of microarrays can be detected using RCA. Because of the linear kinetics of RCA, nucleic acid target molecules may be measured with a dynamic range of four orders of magnitude. Consequently, RCA is a promising technology for the direct measurement of nucleic acids on microarrays without the need for a potentially biasing preamplification step.

Alleles↗

Construction strategy for an internal amplification control for real-time diagnostic assays using nucleic Acid sequence-based amplification: development and clinical application.

An important analytical control in molecular amplification-based methods is an internal amplification control (IAC), which should be included in each reaction mixture. An IAC is a nontarget nucleic acid sequence which is coamplified simultaneously with the target sequence. With negative results for the target nucleic acid, the absence of an IAC signal indicates that amplification has failed. A general strategy for the construction of an IAC for inclusion in molecular beacon-based real-time nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) assays is presented. Construction proceeds in two phases. In the first phase, a double-stranded DNA molecule that contains nontarget sequences flanked by target sequences complementary to the NASBA primers is produced. At the 5' end of this DNA molecule is a T7 RNA polymerase binding sequence. In the second phase of construction, RNA transcripts are produced from the DNA by T7 RNA polymerase. This RNA is the IAC; it is amplified by the target NASBA primers and is detected by a molecular beacon probe complementary to the internal nontarget sequences. As a practical example, an IAC for use in an assay for the detection of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis is described, its incorporation and optimization within the assay are detailed, and its application to spiked and natural clinical samples is shown to illustrate the correct interpretation of the diagnostic results.

Animals↗

Rapid diagnosis of Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae, the causative agent of proliferative kidney disease (PKD) in salmonid fish by a novel DNA amplification method, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP).

A new molecular diagnostic assay was developed for detection of Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae the causative agent of proliferative kidney disease (PKD) in salmonid fish using a loop-mediated isothermal amplification method (LAMP). The PKD-LAMP assay amplifies the T. bryosalmonae DNA extracted from infected kidney, under constant temperature of 65 degrees C within 1 h. The required equipment for DNA amplification is only a water bath. The amplification products were detected visually by using SYBR green I dye, which turns green in the presence of amplified products and remains orange in its absence, and by electrophoresis without any difference in the sensitivity of both methods. The developed PKD-LAMP assay demonstrated an exceptionally higher sensitivity than the conventional PCR. PKD-LAMP assay was found to be 100-fold more sensitive than the PCR assay. The developed assay is simple, rapid, cost-effective, specific and highly sensitive. The assay is also characterized by its field applicability, as it does not require the use of sophisticated equipment or skilled personnel.

Animals↗

Detection of rhinoviruses by tissue culture and two independent amplification techniques, nucleic acid sequence-based amplification and reverse transcription-PCR, in children with acute respiratory infections during a winter season.

Five hundred seventeen consecutive nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected between October 1998 and May 1999 for episodes of acute respiratory tract infections in children presenting at the University Hospital of Antwerp. Culture and nucleic acid amplification techniques--nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) and reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR)--were applied to detect rhinoviruses (RVs). Other respiratory viruses were detected by immunofluorescence (IF) analysis of the specimens and IF analysis of shell vial cultures. Among the 517 specimens, 219 viral agents were identified. They were, in decreasing order, rhinoviruses (93 [18.0%]), respiratory syncytial virus (76 [14.7%]), adenoviruses (16 [3.1%]), influenza viruses (15 [2.9%]), enteroviruses (15 [2.9%]), and herpes simplex virus (4 [0.8%]). For the evaluation of rhinovirus detection, culture positivity and/or a positive reaction in the two independent amplification methods was used as an expanded "gold standard." Based on this standard, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of culture were 44.7, 100, 100, and 99.8%, and those of NASBA and RT-PCR were 85.1, 98.3, 83.3, and 98.5% and 82.9, 93.4, 55.7, and 98.2%, respectively. NASBA and RT-PCR produced comparable results and were significantly more sensitive than virus culture. RVs showed the highest incidence in acute respiratory tract infections in children.

Acute Disease↗

[The amplification and overexpression of the mdr genes in Chinese hamster CHLV-79 RJK cells resistant to ethidium bromide correlate with the presence of karyotypic markers of the amplification].

Evidence is provided that selection of the Chinese hamster cells CHLV-79 RJK with ethidium bromide results in amplification and overexpression of mdr family genes, one of which is encoding a transmembrane P-glycoprotein reducing the intracellular drug concentration. It is likely that the amplified copies are located at or near the sites of resident mdr gene localization to look as an abnormal chromosomal banding pattern in chromosome 1q26. In the following selection steps to higher drug concentration, the cells are keeping the degree of amplification, but mdr gene expression increases by many times. The data suggest that the resistance of the Chinese hamster cells CHLV-79 RJK to higher concentrations of ethidium bromide may be achieved via a variety of mechanisms, including as well mdr gene amplification as transcriptional regulation of these genes.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗

Preferential amplification of the paternal allele in neuroblastomas with N-myc amplification.

There is increasing evidence that imprinting plays an important role in influencing the parental origin of genes involved in cancer-specific rearrangements. In advanced stage neuroblastomas, both allelic loss of the short arm of chromosome 1 (1p) and amplification of the proto-oncogene N-myc are often seen. Therefore, we analyzed 22 human neuroblastomas with N-myc amplification to determine the parental origin of the N-myc allele that is amplified and the 1p allele that is deleted. We used at least three polymorphisms for both the 1p and the N-myc locus to analyze blood and tumor samples from neuroblastoma patients, as well as blood samples from their parents. We determined that the paternal allele of N-myc was amplified in 12 of 15 informative cases (P = 0.02), and the paternal allele on 1p was lost in 6 of 11 informative cases (P > 0.2). These results suggest that parental imprinting does not appear to affect the 1p allele that is deleted, at least in the cases that we have examined. However, imprinting has an important influence on determining the N-myc allele that is amplified in these tumors, suggesting that the paternal allele is either more highly expressed or more likely to undergo amplification.

Alleles↗

Preimplantation diagnosis by whole-genome amplification, PCR amplification, and solid-phase minisequencing of blastomere DNA.

We have developed a new method for preimplantation diagnosis of inherited diseases. Our procedure for the identification of point mutations in single cells combines whole-genome amplification using 15-mer random primers (primer extension preamplification, PEP) with a single locus-specific PCR amplification, followed by detection of the mutation by solid-phase minisequencing. The procedure was evaluated by detecting three disease-causing mutations and seven polymorphic nucleotides located on different human chromosomes from single granuloma and blastomere cells. The correct genotype of the cell was identified at 96% of the nucleotide positions analyzed, showing that a representative part of the genome is amplified during PEP. We estimate that PEP yielded at least 1000 copies of the genome. The quantitative nature of the solid-phase minisequencing method allowed us to notice that preferential amplification of one allele occurs at heterozygous loci during PEP, which is a potential problem in preimplantation diagnosis.

Alleles↗

Chemical shift anisotropy amplification with high amplification factor and improved sensitivity.

An improved version of the recently proposed chemical shift anisotropy amplification experiment is described. The original experiment correlates a fast magic angle spinning spectrum in the omega2 dimension with a sideband pattern in omega1 in which the intensities mimic those for a sample spinning at a fraction of the rate omegar/N. Advantages of the experiment include the use of standard methods to extract the principal tensor components from the omega1 sideband patterns and the small number of t1 increments required. The improved version described here permits large amplification factors N to be obtained without resort to prohibitively long sequences of pi-pulses and allows sensitivity to be maximized by eliminating the need to store the magnetization along the z-axis for t1. Amplification factors up to 32 are demonstrated experimentally.

Algorithms↗

Amplification of padlock probes for DNA diagnostics by cascade rolling circle amplification or the polymerase chain reaction.

CONTEXT: Padlock probes are highly specific reagents for DNA diagnostics that can discriminate gene sequences with single base mutations. When the 3' and 5' terminal regions of the oligonucleotide probes are juxtaposed on a target DNA sequence, they can be circularized by enzymatic ligation and become topologically locked to the target. However, to be useful in solution-based diagnostics, the sensitivity of padlock probes must be markedly enhanced. OBJECTIVE: To describe two methods for geometric amplification of circularized padlock probes. DESIGN: Cascade rolling circle amplification is an isothermal system that uses generic primers and a DNA polymerase with strong strand displacement activity to amplify circularized probes by a mechanism combining rolling circle replication and strand displacement synthesis. One of the primers was designed as an energy transfer-labeled primer, which generates a fluorescence signal only when incorporated into the amplified product, enabling a direct means of detection. RESULTS: Using pUC19 as a model target to circularize an 89-base probe, a 10 billion-fold amplification was achieved with Bst DNA polymerase (large fragment) within 1 hour starting with as few as 10 probe molecules. The polymerase chain reaction was also used to amplify ligated padlock probes in a rare target detection system. In mixing experiments containing both normal and mutant p53 or c-Ki-ras2 gene target sequences, mutant targets were easily detected in the presence of a 500-fold excess of normal target copies. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that padlock probes can be amplified to the high levels required for solution-based DNA diagnostics.

Base Sequence↗

Selective amplification of genes on the R plasmid, NR1, in Proteus mirabilis: an example of the induction of selective gene amplification.

The drug-resistance plasmid, NR1, is a 37-micron circular DNA molecule that contains two components: the resistance transfer factor (29 micron) carrying the transfer genes and the genes for tetracycline resistance, and the r-determinant (8 micron) carrying the genes for resistance to several other antibiotics including chloramphenicol (Cm). In Proteus mirabilis, these two components are capable of independent replication, or they may replicate as a composite molecule. When cells of P. mirabilis containing NR1 are cultured in medium containing Cm at 250 microgram/ml a growth lag of 20-35 hr ensues. During this lag, Cm induces the selective amplification of the r-determinant, including the gene for resistance to Cm. The amplification results from the excision of the r-determinant from the R plasmid, the independent replication of the r-determinant to give polymeric as well as monomeric r-determinants, and the eventual reintegration of multiple tandem copies of the r-determinant with the resistance transfer factor to form a new R plasmid with multiple copies of the r-determinant. This mechanism represents a new level of control of gene expression in bacterial systems--namely, the induction of selective gene amplification.

Cell Division↗

Solid phase DNA amplification: characterisation of primer attachment and amplification mechanisms.

Different chemical methods used to attach oligonucleotides by their 5'-end on a glass surface were tested in the framework of solid phase PCR where surface-bound instead of freely-diffusing primers are used to amplify DNA. Each method was first evaluated for its capacity to provide a high surface coverage of oligonucleotides essentially attached via a 5'-specific linkage that satisfyingly withstands PCR conditions and leaves the 3'-ends available for DNA polymerase activity. The best results were obtained with 5'-thiol-modified oligonucleotides attached to amino-silanised glass slides using a heterobifunctional cross-linker reagent. It was then demonstrated that the primers bound to the glass surface using the optimal chemistry can be involved in attaching and amplifying DNA molecules present in the reaction mix in the absence of freely-diffusing primers. Two distinct amplification processes called interfacial and surface amplification have been observed and characterised. The newly synthesised DNA can be detected and quantified by radioactive and fluorescent hybridisation assays. These new surface amplification processes are seen as an interesting approach for attachment of DNA molecules by their 5'-end on a solid support and can be used as an alternative route for producing DNA chips for genomic studies.

Cross-Linking Reagents↗

Structure of an inverted duplication formed as a first step in a gene amplification event: implications for a model of gene amplification.

Inverted duplications have been observed to be a common feature of gene amplification in mammalian cells and appear to be generated as a primary event in the amplification process (Ford et al., 1985; Ford and Fried, 1986). The structural features of the amplified inverted duplication, containing the polyoma virus oncogene middle T-antigen, were analysed in transformed 3B rat cells. No unusual sequences such as transposition elements were detected at the site of the inversion. The inversion was generated by a simple illegitimate recombination event in which only a single nucleotide directly at the point of the inversion cannot be accounted for from the sequence of the two parental strands. Possible structural (hairpin formation) and sequence (rich AT) features may have been involved in the illegitimate recombination event at the inversion join. In the cellular DNA near one of its joins with polyoma virus DNA an unusual sequence of 198 bp composed of 99 consecutive purine-pyrimidine pairs has been detected. A model for the generation of amplified DNA containing inverted duplications is proposed.

Animals↗

Reactivity and amplification efficiency of the NASBA HIV-1 RNA amplification system with regard to different HIV-1 subtypes.

In view of the genetic diversity of the human immunodeficiency virus Type 1, we assessed the sensitivity and quantification efficiency of the HIV-1 RNA NASBA amplification system with respect to different HIV-1 subtypes and recombinants. Twenty cell culture supernatants representing 17 HIV-1 group M and 3 group O strains were tested, and NASBA RNA loads were compared with results obtained with a RT-PCR based HIV-1 RNA quantitation method, with p24-antigen concentrations and with the infective dose. The current HIV-1 RNA NASBA seemed suitable to quantitate representatives of different HIV-1 M subtypes. Differences between NASBA and RT-PCR loads were observed for certain HIV-1 M strains. Significantly lower RT-PCR loads were measured for most gag A, gag B and gag F strains, whereas NASBA detected lower copy numbers in 1 gag H strain and 1 gag H/env G recombinant. NASBA was not able to quantify 1 HIV-1 group M recombinant. Some of these differences could be explained by the presence and position of mismatches with primers. HIV-1 group O strains were not detectable by both RNA amplification methods. A firm correlation was not observed between the measured RNA loads and either the p24-antigen concentration or the infective dose.

HIV-1↗

Combination of amplification and post-amplification strategies to improve optical DNA sensing.

The work evaluated a series of approaches to optimise detection of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified DNA samples by an optical sensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) (BiacoreX). The optimised procedure was based on an asymmetric PCR amplification system to amplify predominantly one DNA strand, containing the sequence complementary to a specific probe. The study moved into two directions, aiming to improve the analytical performance of SPR detection in PCR amplified products. One approach concerned the application of new strategies at the level of PCR, i.e. asymmetric PCR to obtain ssDNA amplified fragments containing the target capable of hybridisation with the immobilised complementary probe. The other strategy focused on the post-PCR amplification stage. Optimised denaturing conditions were applied to both symmetrically and asymmetrically amplified fragments. The effective combination of the two strategies allowed a rapid and specific hybridisation reaction. The developed method was successfully applied in the detection of genetically modified organisms.

Biosensing Techniques↗

Monitoring the amplification of CATCH, a 3SR based cooperatively coupled isothermal amplification system, by fluorimetric methods.

Three different types of fluorescence detection methods were employed to monitor amplification of a previously established isothermal cooperatively coupled amplification system as it can serve as a tool for the investigation of fundamental issues in evolutionary optimization. By using 5'IRD-41 fluorescent labeled primers, the intercalating dye TOPRO-1 and a 5'fluorescin/3'DABCYL 4-(4-dimethylamino-phenylazo)benzoic acid labeled ss 24 nt DNA, evolving molecular cooperation is accessible, sequence specifically as well as non-sequence-specifically without using radioactivity.

DNA↗

Amplification of drug resistance genes flanked by inversely repeated IS1 elements: involvement of IS1-promoted DNA rearrangements before amplification.

Tn2653 contains one copy of the tet gene and two copies of the cat gene derived from plasmid pBR325 and is flanked by inverted repeats of IS1. Transposed onto the P1-15 prophage, it confers a chloramphenicol resistance phenotype to the Escherichia coli host. Because the prophage is perpetuated as a plasmid at about one copy per host chromosome, the host cell is still tetracycline sensitive even though P1-15 is carrying one copy of the tet gene. We isolated P1-15::Tn2653 mutants conferring a tetracycline resistance phenotype, in which the whole transposon and variable flanking P1-15 DNA segments were amplified. Amplification was most probably preceded by IS1-mediated DNA rearrangements which led to long direct repeats containing Tn2653 sequences and P1-15 DNA. Subsequent recombination events between these direct repeats led to amplification of a segment containing the tetracycline resistance gene in tandem arrays.

Chloramphenicol↗

Amplification of bacterial genomic DNA by the polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing after asymmetric amplification: application to the study of periplasmic permeases.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been used to amplify DNA fragments by using eucaryotic genomic DNA as a template. We show that bacterial genomic DNA can be used as a template for PCR amplification. We demonstrate that DNA fragments at least as large as 4,400 base pairs can be amplified with fidelity and that the amplified DNA can be used as a substrate for most operations involving DNA. We discuss problems inherent in the direct sequencing of the amplified product, one of the important exploitations of this methodology. We have solved the problems by developing an "asymmetric amplification" method in which one of the oligonucleotide primers is used in limiting amounts, thus allowing the accumulation of single-stranded copies of only one of the DNA strands. As an illustration of the use of PCR in bacteria, we have amplified, sequenced, and subcloned several DNA fragments carrying mutations in genes of the histidine permease operon. These mutations are part of a preliminary approach to studying protein-protein interactions in transport, and their nature is discussed.

Chromosomes, Bacterial↗