@article {17408,
	title = {Development and assessment of a multiplex real-time PCR assay for quantification of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 DNA},
	journal = {J Clin MicrobiolJournal of clinical microbiologyJournal of clinical microbiology},
	volume = {47},
	number = {7},
	year = {2009},
	note = {Beloukas, AParaskevis, DHaida, CSypsa, VHatzakis, AengEvaluation Study2009/05/08 09:00J Clin Microbiol. 2009 Jul;47(7):2194-9. doi: 10.1128/JCM.01264-08. Epub 2009 May 6.},
	month = {Jul},
	pages = {2194-9},
	abstract = {Previous studies showed that high levels of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) DNA are associated with a faster progression to AIDS, an increased risk of death, and a higher risk of HIV RNA rebound in patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy. Our objective was to develop and assess a highly sensitive real-time multiplex PCR assay for the quantification of HIV-1 DNA (RTMP-HIV) based on molecular beacons. HIV-1 DNA quantification was carried out by RTMP in a LightCycler 2.0 apparatus. HIV-1 DNA was quantified in parallel with CCR5 as a reference gene, and reported values are numbers of HIV-1 DNA copies/10(6) peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The clinical sensitivity of the assay was assessed for 115 newly diagnosed HIV-1-infected individuals. The analytical sensitivity was estimated to be 12.5 copies of HIV-1 DNA per 10(6) PBMCs, while the clinical sensitivity was 100\%, with levels ranging from 1.23 to 4.25 log(10) HIV-1 DNA copies/10(6) PBMCs. In conclusion, we developed and assessed a new RTMP-HIV assay based on molecular beacons, using a LightCycler 2.0 instrument. This multiplex assay has comparable sensitivity, reproducibility, and accuracy to single real-time PCR assays.},
	keywords = {DNA, Viral/*blood/*genetics, HIV Infections/*virology, HIV-1/genetics/*isolation \& purification, Humans, Polymerase Chain Reaction/*methods, Sensitivity and Specificity, Viral Load/*methods},
	isbn = {1098-660X (Electronic)0095-1137 (Linking)},
	author = {Beloukas, A. and Paraskevis, D and Haida, C and Sypsa, V and Hatzakis, A}
}
