title: Replication reduction neutralization test, a quantitative RT-PCR-based technique for the detection of neutralizing hantavirus antibodies.
abstract: Hantaviruses, which are mainly rodent-borne viruses, cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in the Old World, and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the New World. A neutralization test based on quantitative RT-PCR, the replication reduction neutralization test (RRNT), was developed for efficient detection of hantavirus-neutralizing antibodies. The effectiveness of the RRNT was evaluated by examining several hantaviruses and hantavirus-specific convalescent human serum samples. All convalescent serum samples tested by RRNT caused significant decreases in hantavirus genomes with only one specific hantavirus species, which allowed a straightforward identification of the related hantavirus. The results obtained by RRNT were completely comparable with the results obtained by focus reduction neutralization test (FRNT). The RRNT approach is a reliable and rapid alternative for FRNT, hitherto considered as the gold standard for hantavirus serology.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Clinical Virology, Hantavirus Reference Center, Rega Institute, Minderbroedersstraat 10, B3000 Leuven, Belgium. pmaes3@uzleuven.be
authors.forename: Piet
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maes
authors.forename: Els
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Keyaerts
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nlandu-Masunda
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Clement
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Van Ranst
mesh_terms: D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D006476:Orthohantavirus / Q000276:immunology*; D018778:Hantavirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D009500:Neutralization Tests / Q000379:methods; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral