A rapid and sensitive assay for detection of replication-competent adenoviruses by a combination of microcarrier cell culture and quantitative PCR

Johanna A. C. Schalk*, Claudette G. J. C. A. de Vries, Tom J. H. Orzechowski, Marianne G. Rots

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    16 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The development of a rapid and sensitive assay for detection of replication-competent adenoviruses (RCAs) is described. This RCA assay consists of an incubation step of 4 days of adenoviral vectors on A549 cells in a microcarrier cell culture system followed by detection of amplified RCAs by E1-specific quantitative PCR. The detection limit of this assay is 3 RCAs in 1 x 10(10) vector particles per 70 ml of microcarrier cell culture. The main advantage of the combination of cell culture and PCR detection is that replicated virus can be detected long before cytopathic effects become visible and therefore, it is much faster than conventional cell culture-based assays. This assay was validated by spiking replication-incompetent adenoviral vectors with wild-type adenovirus serotype 5 (wt Ad5) as a positive control for RCA. It was found that the replication of wt Ad5 is hampered above a vector particle per cell ratio of 50. However, if microcarrier beads are used, many cells can be grown in a small suspension culture and consequently a large number of vector particles can be tested for contamination with RCA. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)89-95
    Number of pages7
    JournalJournal of virological methods
    Volume145
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Nov-2007

    Keywords

    • infectivity PCR
    • replication-competent adenovirus
    • adenoviral vector
    • quantitative PCR
    • microcarriers
    • safety
    • POLYMERASE-CHAIN-REACTION
    • RECOMBINANT ADENOVIRUS
    • GENE-THERAPY
    • E1-DELETED ADENOVIRUS
    • WILD-TYPE
    • E1-POSITIVE PARTICLES
    • VECTORS
    • VIRUS
    • LINE
    • VACCINES

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