Evaluation of Non-radioactive ELISA assay Kits for Detection of Retroviral Reverse Transcriptase (RT) Activity Associated with Retroviral SIV and HIV.

Reverse transcriptase (RT) assay is commonly used to detect enzyme activity associated with retroviral-like particles. Previously, detection of RT activity in virus-infected cultures was done using a radioisotope-based assay system. However, assay systems, which detect the antigen directly(as opposed to antibody ELISA assays), have been developed.

Endogenous Retroviruses: What risks do they pose in xenotransplant.

Endogenous retroviruses are diverse in nature and found in genomes of ; vertebrates examined to date. There is also a spectrum of retrovirus-Iil transposable genetic elements that have been found in plants, fungi, and prokaryotes, which use reverse transcription as a replicative strategy. The presen of these retroviruses in various animal tissues can potentially leads to the spread animal-derived endogenous retroviruses during xenotransplantation.