title: Detection of hepatitis "C" virus in formalin-fixed liver tissue by nested polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: Interpretation of antibody to hepatitis C virus (HCV) in patients with liver disease is difficult due to false-positive reactivity in some conditions. To evaluate the feasibility of HCV in archival material, HCV was sought in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded liver biopsy specimens. Nested polymerase chain reaction was used to detect hepatitis C virus in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded liver biopsy specimens after total RNA was extracted from tissue by proteinase K digestion and phenol/chloroform purification. The relative efficiency of amplification of HCV RNA from formalin-fixed material was estimated semiquantitatively by serial dilution of cDNA synthesised from RNA extracted from fresh and formalin-fixed sections from the same liver. Although HCV RNA could be detected in formalin-fixed liver tissue by nested PCR in 5/5 cases in which HCV was detected in serum, amplification was approximately 5-fold less efficient than when HCV was amplified from fresh tissue. Nevertheless, nested PCR of HCV from formalin-fixed liver tissue represents a useful technique in addressing some important questions related to the pathogenesis of liver disease.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Liver Studies, King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, King's College Hospital, London, England.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sallie
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rayner
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Portmann
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Eddleston
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D005260:Female; D005557:Formaldehyde; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016707:Tissue Fixation
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; D005557:Formaldehyde