Detection of Coxsackievirus B3 RNA in myocardial tissues by the polymerase chain reaction.

Coxsackievirus B3 is a possible etiologic agent in some forms of myocarditis and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. A method for the detection of coxsackievirus B3 RNA was developed using the polymerase chain reaction based on the amplification of a cDNA copy of the positive-strand viral RNA. The fidelity of the method was established in two murine models for coxsackie B3 myocarditis.

Oligoclonal T cell receptor gene rearrangements in blood lymphocytes of patients with acute Epstein-Barr virus-induced infectious mononucleosis.

Gene rearrangement studies were performed on blood lymphocytes from eight patients with acute Epstein-Barr virus-induced infectious mononucleosis. The diagnosis in each case was based on characteristic clinical, hematologic, and serologic findings. The blood lymphocytes in each patient consisted predominantly of CD8+ T cells.

Detection of immunoglobulin light-chain mRNA in lymphoid tissues using a practical in situ hybridization method.

The identification of immunoglobulin protein in routinely fixed and paraffin-embedded sections using antibodies combined with immunoperoxidase or similar techniques of detection is often problematic. We developed an in situ hybridization methodology for the identification of light-chain mRNA that is applicable to formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues, using either radiolabeled or biotinylated oligonucleotide probes based on the kappa and lambda light-chain gene-constant regions. Reactive plasma cells can be consistently identified in reactive lymphoid tissues, and a monotypic pattern of light-chain mRNA restriction was seen in each of eight cases of multiple myeloma/plasmacytoma.

In situ hybridization studies for viral nucleic acids in heart and lung allograft biopsies.

In situ hybridization has been shown to be a useful technique for the identification of specific viruses in pathologic tissues. The authors studied 313 lung and 164 heart biopsies from 20 heart-lung recipients to assess its utility in this clinical setting, employing biotinylated probes for the cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex, and adenovirus genomes. Twenty-five lung biopsies and one heart biopsy had detectable cytomegalovirus DNA by in situ hybridization.

Analysis of lymphoepithelioma and lymphoepithelioma-like carcinomas for Epstein-Barr viral genomes by in situ hybridization.

Lymphoepithelioma of the nasopharynx has a strong association with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). To test the hypothesis that lymphoepithelioma-like carcinomas occurring at other sites are also associated with EBV virus, we used in situ hybridization to analyze 20 cases of lymphoepithelioma and histologically similar lesions and five basaloid squamous cell carcinomas for evidence of EBV genomes. EBV genomes were demonstrated in six of six lymphoepitheliomas of the nasopharynx but in none of five basaloid squamous cell carcinoma.