Sensitive and quantitative one-step polymerase chain reaction using capillary electrophoresis and fluorescence detection for measuring cytokeratin 19expression
Fv. Shammas et al., Sensitive and quantitative one-step polymerase chain reaction using capillary electrophoresis and fluorescence detection for measuring cytokeratin 19expression, SC J CL INV, 59(8), 1999, pp. 635-642
Citations number
26
Categorie Soggetti
Research/Laboratory Medicine & Medical Tecnology","Medical Research General Topics
Journal title
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL & LABORATORY INVESTIGATION
An improved quantitative assay to measure cytokeratin 19 (CK19) expression
has been developed. The assay utilizes reverse transcription and a one-step
polymerase chain reaction (PCR), with capillary electrophoresis and fluore
scent labelling, to separate and detect the PCR products. Calibration curve
s were constructed from a serial dilution of CK19 cDNA coamplified with a f
ixed amount of CK19 internal standard, which was found to be linear between
10 and 500 molecules. Quantitative measurement of CK19 in samples was carr
ied out by coamplifying the cDNA with a fixed amount of internal standard.
The values were calculated from the calibration curve. The integrity of RNA
and cDNA synthesis was checked by quantitative measurement of the breakpoi
nt cluster region (BCR) gene expression. The assay is sensitive, detecting
<10 CK19 transcripts, and reproducible with a coefficient of variation of a
pproximately 10%. CK19 expression showed overlapping values when measured i
n samples from peripheral blood and bone marrow in operable breast cancer p
atients, in healthy volunteers or patients without epithelial cancer and in
blood samples from patients with metastatic breast cancer. As the assay is
easier to perform than traditional quantitative competitive PCR assays, it
might be useful for quantitative measurement of other specific transcripts
.