Use of real-time polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR) as a diagnostic tool for influenza infection in a vaccine efficacy trial.

Background: Conventional techniques for diagnosing influenza based on viral cell culture or disease serology have limitations, and molecular assays, such as real-time polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR) are increasingly used.

Objectives: To evaluate the use of rtPCR as a diagnostic tool for the determination of influenza virus infection.

Study Design: This prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised efficacy study was conducted in persons aged 18-64 years.

Horizontal transmission of a human rotavirus vaccine strain--a randomized, placebo-controlled study in twins.

Transmission of excreted vaccine-derived infectious virus from vaccinated to unvaccinated individuals is possible within close contacts. This randomized (1:1), double-blind study evaluated the potential for transmission of human rotavirus vaccine strain, HRV (Rotarix™) from vaccine recipients to unvaccinated close contacts (twins). 100 pairs of healthy twins aged 6-14 weeks at the time of Dose 1 of HRV vaccine/placebo were enrolled and one randomly selected twin from each pair received two vaccine doses and the other received placebo doses (at 2 and 4 months of age).

Detection and genotyping of human rotavirus VP4 and VP7 genes by reverse transcriptase PCR and reverse hybridization.

Rotavirus infections can be diagnosed in stool samples by serological and molecular methods. We developed a novel reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) method for the amplification of rotavirus RNA and a reverse hybridization assay on a strip to detect amplimers and identify the specific G and P genotypes present in human stool specimens. An additional aim was to permit specific identification of the rotavirus G1P[8] strain, used in the Rotarix vaccine.

Effect of low- and high-virulence Yersinia enterocolitica strains on the inflammatory response of human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

Pathogenic strains of Yersinia spp. inject a set of Yop effector proteins into eukaryotic cells by using a plasmid-encoded type III secretion system. In this study, we analyzed the inflammatory response of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) after infection with different Yersinia enterocolitica strains.