title: Reproducibility in the quantification of mRNA levels by RT-PCR-ELISA and RT competitive-PCR-ELISA.
abstract: The use of reverse transcription (RT) PCR for relative quantitation of gene transcripts relies on the reproducibility of the individual RT, PCR and product measurement steps. Semi-competitive RT-PCR (RT-cPCR) uses an internal competitor template in the PCR step to improve quantitation. We have surveyed the reproducibility of RT, PCR, RT-cPCR and measurement, amplifying the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase "housekeeping" gene from isolated renal glomeruli. We used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to quantify PCR products. We also report our PCR-based method for constructing a competitor DNA identifiable independently of the native product. Our results show that the entire RT-PCR and ELISA process had a standard deviation (SD) of less than 10% (n = 10). This compared to an SD of less than 13% (n = 10) in PCR and ELISA. The SD for ELISA alone was less than 11% (n = 10). RT-cPCR quantitation gave an SD of approximately 15% (n = 10). These results support the use of standard RT-PCR for the relative quantitation of mRNA. RT-cPCR is also suited to relative quantitation, but it is also independent of the amplification saturation curve and permits the identification of differences in cellularity between samples.
authors.affiliation: University of Leicester, Department of Pathology, Leicester Royal Infirmary, England, UK.
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Bicknell
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Primrose
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Pringle
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Furness
mesh_terms: D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods*; D005987:Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007678:Kidney Glomerulus / Q000201:enzymology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis*; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000378:metabolism*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D005987:Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase