An international collaboration to standardize HIV-2 viral load assays: results from the 2009 ACHIEV2E quality control study

Damond, F. et al. (2011) An international collaboration to standardize HIV-2 viral load assays: results from the 2009 ACHIEV2E quality control study. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 49(10), pp. 3491-3497. (doi: 10.1128/jcm.02389-10) (PMID:21813718) (PMCID:PMC3187346)

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Abstract

Accurate HIV-2 plasma viral load quantification is crucial for adequate HIV-2 patient management and for the proper conduct of clinical trials and international cohort collaborations. This study compared the homogeneity of HIV-2 RNA quantification when using HIV-2 assays from ACHIEV2E study sites and either in-house PCR calibration standards or common viral load standards supplied to all collaborators. Each of the 12 participating laboratories quantified blinded HIV-2 samples, using its own HIV-2 viral load assay and standard as well as centrally validated and distributed common HIV-2 group A and B standards (http://www.hiv.lanl.gov/content/sequence/HelpDocs/subtypes-more.html). Aliquots of HIV-2 group A and B strains, each at 2 theoretical concentrations (2.7 and 3.7 log10 copies/ml), were tested. Intralaboratory, interlaboratory, and overall variances of quantification results obtained with both standards were compared using F tests. For HIV-2 group A quantifications, overall and interlaboratory and/or intralaboratory variances were significantly lower when using the common standard than when using in-house standards at the concentration levels of 2.7 log10 copies/ml and 3.7 log10 copies/ml, respectively. For HIV-2 group B, a high heterogeneity was observed and the variances did not differ according to the type of standard used. In this international collaboration, the use of a common standard improved the homogeneity of HIV-2 group A RNA quantification only. The diversity of HIV-2 group B, particularly in PCR primer-binding regions, may explain the heterogeneity in quantification of this strain. Development of a validated HIV-2 viral load assay that accurately quantifies distinct circulating strains is needed.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Cotten, Professor Matthew
Authors: Damond, F., Benard, A., Balotta, C., Boni, J., Cotten, M., Duque, V., Ferns, B., Garson, J., Gomes, P., Goncalves, F., Gottlieb, G., Kupfer, B., Ruelle, J., Rodes, B., Soriano, V., Wainberg, M., Taieb, A., Matheron, S., Chene, G., and Brun-Vezinet, F.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity
College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity > Centre for Virus Research
Journal Name:Journal of Clinical Microbiology
Publisher:American Society for Microbiology
ISSN:0095-1137
ISSN (Online):1098-660X
Published Online:29 September 2011

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