
AsianScientist (Oct. 31, 2019) – Diagnosing hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in clinical settings stands to gain from a sensitive DNA-based tool developed by scientists in China. The findings are published in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 257 million individuals live with HBV infection, of which approximately one-tenth were diagnosed and provided with treatment. The virus is typically spread through contact with infected blood or bodily fluids.
In the present study, a team of scientists led by Dr. Qishui Ou at Fujian Medical University, China, sought to develop a simple and inexpensive test for HBV infection. Although a number of molecular methods are available for HBV diagnosis, many are limited by poor sensitivity or inability to detect more than one mutant HBV strain at a time. Others are too cumbersome or expensive for clinical use.
The researchers thus combined two techniques—co-amplification at lower denaturation temperature polymerase chain reaction (COLD-PCR) and probe-based fluorescence melting curve analysis (FMCA)—that allowed them to assess multiple HBV mutants at once. Their method can even distinguish different phases of HBV infection according to the proportion and type of mutations found in HBV DNA.
The researchers further report that the HBV genotypes and mutations detected by COLD-PCR/FMCA may predict whether a patient will respond to antiviral therapy. Analysis of serum samples from 41 patients with chronic HBV infection who were receiving entecavir revealed that the antiviral drug was most effective for patients with a particular HBV genotype (genotype B) and virus strains with a lower percentage of mutations at baseline or week four.
“Until now there have not been high-throughput approaches to detect HBV DNA, genotypes and mutations simultaneously. COLD-PCR/FMCA has that potential,” said Ou.
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Source: Fujian Medical University; Photo: Shutterstock.
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