Primer site polymorphisms: potential implications for bone marrow engraftment monitoring.

Assessment of chimerism after allogeneic bone marrow transplant frequently relies on PCR amplification of donor- and recipient-specific polymorphic short tandem repeats (STR) with subsequent fluorescent detection of amplicons. In vitro amplification of STR loci is often achieved through commercially available, multiplex PCR kits. While originally developed for forensic purposes, these kits are increasingly being used in clinical laboratories for early detection of graft failure and relapse of disease.