POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION FOR DETECTION OF JC VIRUS-DNA IN CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID - A QUALITY-CONTROL STUDY

The sensitivity and specificity of PCR of CSF for the diagnosis of pro gressive multifocal leuko encephalopathy is estimated at 75 and 98.5%, respectively. However, inter-laboratory and inter-technique variation s have been shown to produce wide variations. A 10-fold dilution serie s of JC virus in cerebrospinal fluid was prepared and circulated for ' blind' evaluation in laboratories participating in a European Union Co ncerted Action on Virus Meningitis and Encephalitis. Six of seven labo ratories returned results with sensitivity of between 10 and 1 JCV DNA copy equivalents per 10 mu l of CSF, one laboratory detected 10(5) co pies per 10 mu l of CSF. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using virus diluted in CSF for comparison of PCR techniques, and that the range of sensitivity of JCV PCR in proficient laboratories is betw een 10 and 1 copy equivalents per 10 mu l of CSF. (C) 1997 Published b y Elsevier Science B.V.