<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Ntziora, Fotinie</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Paraskevis, Dimitrios</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Haida, Catherine</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Manesis, Emanuel</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Papatheodoridis, George</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Manolakopoulos, Spilios</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Elefsiniotis, Ioannis</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Karamitros, Timokratis</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Vassilakis, Alexis</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Hatzakis, Angelos</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Ultrasensitive amplification refractory mutation system real-time PCR (ARMS RT-PCR) assay for detection of minority hepatitis B virus-resistant strains in the era of personalized medicine.</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">J Clin Microbiol</style></secondary-title><alt-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">J. Clin. Microbiol.</style></alt-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">DNA, Viral</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Drug Resistance, Viral</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Genotype</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Hepatitis B virus</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Hepatitis B, Chronic</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Humans</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Mutation, Missense</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Precision Medicine</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Sensitivity and Specificity</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2013</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2013 Sep</style></date></pub-dates></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">51</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2893-900</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Resistance to antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been associated with mutations in the HBV polymerase region. This study aimed at developing an ultrasensitive method for quantifying viral populations with all major HBV resistance-associated mutations, combining the amplification refractory mutation system real-time PCR (ARMS RT-PCR) with a molecular beacon using a LightCycler. The discriminatory ability of this method, the ARMS RT-PCR with molecular beacon assay, was 0.01 to 0.25% for the different HBV resistance-associated mutations, as determined by laboratory-synthesized wild-type (WT) and mutant (Mut) target sequences. The assay showed 100% sensitivity for the detection of mutant variants A181V, T184A, and N236T in samples from 41 chronically HBV-infected patients under antiviral therapy who had developed resistance-associated mutations detected by direct PCR Sanger sequencing. The ratio of mutant to wild-type viral populations (the Mut/WT ratio) was &gt;1% in 38 (63.3%) of 60 samples from chronically HBV-infected nucleos(t)ide analogue-naive patients; combinations of mutations were also detected in half of these samples. The ARMS RT-PCR with molecular beacon assay achieved high sensitivity and discriminatory ability compared to the gold standard of direct PCR Sanger sequencing in identifying resistant viral populations in chronically HBV-infected patients receiving antiviral therapy. Apart from the dominant clones, other quasispecies were also quantified. In samples from chronically HBV-infected nucleos(t)ide analogue-naive patients, the assay proved to be a useful tool in detecting minor variant populations before the initiation of the treatment. These observations need further evaluation with prospective studies before they can be implemented in daily practice.</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">9</style></issue><custom1><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23804383?dopt=Abstract</style></custom1></record></records></xml>