Detection of adenovirus by rapid 24-well plate centrifugation and conventional cell culture with dexamethasone.
Two methods for rapid detection of adenovirus were tested: (i) 24-well plate centrifugation followed by staining with a monoclonal antibody after incubation for 24 h and 48 h, and (ii) pretreatment of A549 cells used in conventional cell culture and 24-well plate centrifugation with 10(-5)M dexamethasone. Twenty-seven clinical isolates of adenovirus and 12 specimens from which adenovirus had been recovered were included in the analysis. Both isolates and specimens had been frozen at -70 degrees C for up to 6 months. By 24-well plate centrifugation both with and without dexamethasone, 21 (78%) and 27 (100%) isolates were positive for adenovirus at 24 h and 48 h, respectively. Of the specimens, 6 (50%) and 8 (67%) were positive by 24-well plate centrifugation without dexamethasone at 24 h and 48 h, respectively, whereas with dexamethasone 3 (25%) were positive at 24 h and 7 (58%) were positive at 48 h. Overall, combining isolates and specimens, the sensitivity of 24-well plate centrifugation for detection of adenovirus at 24 h was 69% without dexamethasone and 62% with dexamethasone, and at 48 h the sensitivity was 90% without dexamethasone and 87% with dexamethasone. The specificity under all conditions tested was 100%. In conventional tissue culture dexamethasone inhibited recovery of adenovirus. Without dexamethasone, adenovirus was recovered from all 39 samples within 7 days after inoculation; however with dexamethasone pretreatment, the virus was detected in only 31 (79%) of the samples tested in the same period of time.
Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha 68105.
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Woods
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Yamamoto
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Young
D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000260:Adenoviruses, Human / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D002460:Cell Line; D003907:Dexamethasone; D006801:Humans; D014773:Virology / Q000379:methods
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D003907:Dexamethasone