IMPROVED METHOD FACILITATES RELIABLE APOE GENOTYPING OF GENOMIC DNA EXTRACTED FROM FORMALDEHYDE-FIXED PATHOLOGY SPECIMENS

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotyping of genomic DNA extracted from forma ldehyde-fixed specimens is cumbersome: there is not only a low yield o r failure of PCR amplification (presumably due to degradation of DNA i n the formaldehyde-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue), but the standa rd method also involves the separation of DNA fragments as small as 48 , 72, 81 and 91 bp requiring high-yield PCR products. Here we report a bout a semi-nested PCR method suitable for providing specific high-yie ld PCR products from DNA that has been extracted from formaldehyde-fix ed specimens which initially generate low-quality templates. This meth od facilitates reliable APOE genotyping of DNA from difficult template s. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.