Background: Plasmodium knowlesi and Plasmodium vivax are the predominant Plasmodium species that cause malaria in Malaysia and play a role in asymptomatic malaria disease transmission in Malaysia. The diagnostic tools available to diagnose malaria, such as microscopy and rapid diagnostic test (RDT), are less sensitive at detecting lower parasite density. Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR), which has been shown to have higher sensitivity at diagnosing malaria, allows direct quantification without the need for a standard curve. The aim of this study is to develop and use a duplex ddPCR assay for the detection of P. knowlesi and P. vivax, and compare this method to nested PCR and qPCR.
Methods: The concordance rate, sensitivity and specificity of the duplex ddPCR assay were determined and compared to nested PCR and duplex qPCR.
Results: The duplex ddPCR assay had higher analytical sensitivity (P. vivax = 10 copies/µL and P. knowlesi = 0.01 copies/µL) compared to qPCR (P. vivax = 100 copies/µL and P. knowlesi = 10 copies/µL). Moreover, the ddPCR assay had acceptable clinical sensitivity (P. vivax = 80% and P. knowlesi = 90%) and clinical specificity (P. vivax = 87.84% and P. knowlesi = 81.08%) when compared to nested PCR. Both ddPCR and qPCR detected more double infections in the samples.
Conclusions: Overall, the ddPCR assay demonstrated acceptable efficiency in detection of P. knowlesi and P. vivax, and was more sensitive than nested PCR in detecting mixed infections. However, the duplex ddPCR assay still needs optimization to improve the assay's clinical sensitivity and specificity.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12936-020-03314-5 | DOI Listing |
Foods
December 2024
School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China.
Foodborne viruses are significant contributors to global food safety incidents, posing a serious burden on human health and food safety. In this study, a multiplex reverse transcription-droplet digital PCR (RT-ddPCR) assay based on the MS2 phage as a process control virus (PCV) was developed to achieve the simultaneous detection of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) in bivalve shellfish. By optimizing the reaction system and procedures, the best reaction conditions were selected, and the specificity, sensitivity, and reproducibility of the method were assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagnostics (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Medicine I (Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation), Freiburg University Medical Center, 79106 Freiburg, Germany.
Given the poor prognosis of metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (mPDAC), closer disease monitoring through liquid biopsy, most frequently based on serial measurements of cell-free mutated ( cfDNA), has become a highly active research focus, aimed at improving patients' long-term outcomes. However, most of the available data show only a limited predictive and prognostic value of single-parameter-based methods. We hypothesized that a combined longitudinal analysis of cfDNA and novel protein biomarkers could improve risk stratification and molecular monitoring of patients with mPDAC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccines (Basel)
December 2024
Prophyl Kft., 7700 Mohács, Hungary.
Background/objectives: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for alternative prophylactic measures, particularly for populations for whom vaccines may not be effective or accessible. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of intranasally administered IgY antibodies derived from hen egg yolks as a protective agent against SARS-CoV-2 infection in Syrian golden hamsters, a well-established animal model for COVID-19.
Methods: Hens were immunized with the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 to generate IgY antibodies.
Foods
December 2024
National Reference Laboratory for GM Food and Feed, GMO Unit, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana "Mariano Aleandri", 00178 Rome, Italy.
Due to the increasing number of authorized events in the European Union, it is crucial for the official laboratories to enforce market control to detect and quantify genetically modified organisms. In this study, an in-house validation of quantitative duplex ddPCR methods was performed involving MON87701, MON87769, MON89788 and CV-127-9 assays with respect to the lectin reference gene. Since the ddPCR methods provide accurate quantification, show less sensitivity to PCR inhibitors and are more suitable for multiplexing compared to the real-time PCR, the optimization of the existing assays was performed with the exception of MON87701, according to the JRC Guidance documents and technical reports.
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