• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.66-69
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• 1999

Occurrences of red sea bream iridovirus disease (RSIVD) in cultured marine fishes were investigated. The infection was detected by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) used to amplify the red sea bream iridovirus (RSIV). The RSIV infection was widely distributed in fish culture farm around the south coastal area of the Korean peninsula.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.43-56
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• 1998

A multiplex PCR method was designed by employing primers specific for the eaeA gene, conserved sequences of Shiga-like toxins (SLT-I.II), and the 60-MDa plasmid of enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) O157:H7 strain. A set of six synthetic oligonucleotide primers derived from sequences of the SLT-I.II, eaeA, and 60-MDa plasmid genes of E. coli O157:H7 were used in a multiplex PCR amplification procedure to detect these genes in the same enteric pathogens. In two enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7 (ATCC 35150, ATCC 43894) reference strains, PCR products of 317bps (eaeA), 228bps (SLT-I.II), and 167bps (60-MDa plasmid) were successfully amplified simultaneously in a single reaction. However, the specific PCR products were not amplified in control strains of other enteric bacteria. The sensitivity of the multiplex PCR assay for detection of the SLT-I.II, eaeA, and 60-MDa plasmid genes of E. coli O157:H7 was found to be 2.5$\times$10$^{6}$ of bacteria in diarrheal stool to amplify all three bands. The multiplex PCR technology will allow large-scale screening of many clinical specimens or contaminated foods, and will be a very useful method for the detection of a wide range of microorganisms present in the environment, including EHEC O157:H7 in various types of specimens. The multiplex PCR assay has the potential to be used as a specific and rapid method for clinical diagnosis of disease caused by EHEC O157:H7.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.955-959
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• 2010

Differential diagnosis of the taeniid proglottids between Taenia asiatica and T. sagniata is a daunting task due to their close morphological similarity. However, to correctly diagnose them on time is important in managing infected patients, as well as for reducing serious complications such as cysticercosis. Currently, DNA-based methods for the dissection of genomic information of parasites are being employed to make accurate and rapid diagnoses in the field of parasitology. In this study, multiplex PCR was established and exploited to identify exact species of taeniid adult worms recovered from Korean people. To discriminate one from the other other, primers-Ta4978F, Ts5058F, Tso7421F, and Rev7915- were used for the multiplex PCR, which provided swift and precise identification of the taeniid worms being observed. Also,having instituted PCR methodology, we ascertained that easiness would be achieved to reassess and re-evaluate Korean endemic data on human taeniid cestodes.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.201-205
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• 2001

For evaluating the effect of triple therapy on eradication of gastric Helicobacter species infection in dogs, 7 dogs that had naturally acquired Helicobacter spp. infections were administered amoxicillin, metronidazole and omeparazole orally for 14 days. Changes of infection state were determined by urease test for gastric biopsies and Helicobacter specific PCR analysis for gastric biopsies and fecal samples at 7, 14 days after triple therapy and 30 days after cessation of triple therapy. Although negative results for urease test were obtained 6 of 7 dogs at 14 days after starting triple therapy, PCR analysis for gastric biopsies and fecal samples showed negative results in 3 and 4 dogs respectively. At 30 days after cessation of triple therapy, all tests showed negative results in 3 dogs. Based on these results, diagnostic tests for detercting Helicobacter spp. infection are recommended in dogs having chronic gastritis sign (usually intermittent vomiting) and triple therapy described in this study can be applied for eradicating the organism if the animals were proved to be infected.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.199-205
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• 2009

It is very important to differentiate of DNA derived from live or dead bacteria within mixed microbial communities in aquatic environments. Ethidium monoazide (EMA) is a DNA intercalating agent and the treatment of EMA with strong visible light cleaves the genomic DNA of bacteria. In dead bacterial cells, EMA intercalates into the genomic DNA, induces the cleavage of DNA, and inhibits the PCR amplification. In this study, we developed the EMA-PCR and EMA real-time PCR to detect the DNA derived from viable Escherichia coli (E.coli) in mixed cultures of live and dead E.coli. The treatment of EMA, $50{\mu}g/mL$, and 650 W visible halogen light exposure for 2 minutes cleaved the genomic DNA derived from heat killed E.coli but did not those of live E.coli. EMA-PCR could detect the DNA from live E.coli in mixed culture samples of live and dead E.coli at various ratio and there was no DNA amplification in only dead E.coli cultures. Similar results were observed in EMA real-time PCR. Further studies are needed to develop various EMA-PCR methods to detect viable waterborne pathogens such as Helicobacter pylori, Giardia lamblia, and so on.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.184-191
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• 2007

Background: For the diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of pleural effusion specimens has shown very low sensitivity, which might be due to the small number of bacilli in the samples. The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether the sensitivity of PCR testing can be improved when increasing the amount of pleural effusion specimens. Methods: We prospectively analyzed pleural effusion specimens obtained from 53 patients for whom the exclusion of the possibility of tuberculous pleural effusion was necessary. We performed Mycobacterium tuberculosis PCR testing using the Cobas Amplicor MTB test (Roche Diagnostic Systems) with three different amounts (10ml, 25ml, and 50ml) of pleural effusion specimen in each patient. Pleural tuberculosis was defined as having one of the following: culture-positive pleural fluid sample, histopathologic finding consistent with tuberculosis on pleural biopsy, culture-positive sputum specimen, and/or positive response to anti-tuberculous medication without other possible causes of pleural effusion. Results: Of the 53 patients, 26 received the diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis. The sensitivities of AFB smearing, Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture of pleural effusion specimen, pleural biopsy, and measurement of ADA were 3.8%, 15.4%, 84.6%, and 88.5%, respectively. The results of PCR testing were positive for 3 (11.5%), 4 (15.4%), and 3 (11.5%) of the 26 patients when using 10ml, 25ml, and 50ml of pleural effusion specimens, respectively. These results did not show a statistically significant difference in the sensitivity of PCR testing when increasing the amount of pleural effusion samples (p>0.05, symmetry exact test). Conclusion: For specimens such as pleural effusion, in which the bacillary load is very low, the clinical utility of PCR testing seems highly limited with the kits designed for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. An increased amount of pleural effusion sample does not improve the sensitivity of PCR testing.

• Laboratory Medicine Online
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.26-34
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• 2011

Background: Laboratory diagnosis of new influenza A (H1N1) is crucial for managing patients and establishing control and prevention measures. We compared the diagnostic accuracies of the real time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) test recommended for the confirmation of the new flu and the viral culture method used conventionally for viral disease with that of the rapid antigen test (RAT). Methods: We performed RAT, R-mix culture, and real-time PCR by using 861 respiratory samples collected from December 2009 to January 2010 and evaluated the abilities of these methods to detect new influenza A. The relationship among the positive rates of RAT, grades of culture, and the cycle threshold (Ct) values of rRT-PCR was also evaluated. Results: Of the 861 patients, 308 (35.8%) were diagnosed with new influenza A. The sensitivities, specificities, positive predictive values, and negative predictive values of the tests were respectively as follows: 59.7%, 99.5%, 98.4%, and 81.6% for RAT; 93.2%, 100%, 100%, and 96.3% for R-mix culture; and 95.8%, 100%, 100%, and 97.7% for rRT-PCR. Samples with weak positive grade in culture and those with Ct values of 30-37 in rRT-PCR showed positivities as low as 25.3% and 2.3% in RAT, respectively. The hospitalization rate and death rate of the confirmed patients were 3.2% and 0.3%, respectively, and gastrointestinal symptoms were observed in 7.2% of the patients. Conclusions: R-mix culture and rRT-PCR tests showed excellent reliability in the diagnosis of new influenza A and could be very useful, especially for samples with low viral load.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.36-39
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• 2003

The rapid and reliable 16S rDNA multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was established to characterize bacterial etiologies of middle ear effusion. These etiologies included Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Streptococcus pneumonia, which were detected in middle-ear effusion (MEE) samples taken from patient with otitis media. A total of 39 MEE samples were aspirated from 26 patients. DNA was extracted from MEE samples, and PCR was done with DNA extracts by using the common primers, which is localized at C4 region in the 16S rDNA gene of all bacterial species, and species-specific primers: (i) Haemophilus-specific primer, (ii) Moraxella- specific primer, and (iii) Streptococcus-specific primer. Among 39 samples tested, 24 (61.5%) were positive for H. influenzae, 10 (25.6%) were positive for M. catarrhalis, 3(7.7%) were positive for S. pneumonia, and 11 (28%) were negative for 165 rDNA multiplex PCR reaction. Nine samples (28.6%) exhibited a mixed infection and were positive for both H. infuenzae and M. catarrhalis. We suggested that 16S rDNA multiplex PCR is a useful method to identify rapidly for rapid identification of the pathogenic bacteria and characterization of bacterial etiologies of middle ear effusion.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.146-154
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• 2009

Multiplex ligation dependent probe amplification (MLPA) is a PCR-based method to detect gene dosage. Since its introduction, MLPA has been used to test a large number of genes for major deletions or duplications. Genetic testing, as a diagnostic tool for genetic disease, has been used primarily to identify point mutations, including base substitutions and small insertions/deletions, using PCR and sequence analysis. However, it is difficult to identify large deletions or duplications using routine PCR- gel based assays, especially in heterozygotes. The MLPA is a more feasible method for identification of gene dosage than another routine PCR-based methods, and better able to detect deleterious deletions or duplications. In addition to detection of gene dosage, MLPA can be applied to identify methylation patterns of target genes, aneuploidy during prenatal diagnoses, and large deletions or duplications that may be associated with various cancers. The MLPA method offers numerous advantages, as it requires only a small amount of template DNA, is applicable to a wide variety of applications, and is high-throughput. On the other hand, this method suffers from disadvantages including the possibility of false positive results affected by template DNA quality, difficulties identifying SNPs located in probe sequences, and analytical complications in quantitative aspects.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.219-223
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• 2015

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) causes paratuberculosis or Johne's disease, an intestinal granulomatous infection in domestic and wild animals. The study aimed to develop and evaluate a panel of multiplex quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (mqPCR) assay for simultaneous detection of three MAP-specific genes (IS900, F57 and ISMAP02 genes). The analytic sensitivity (i.e., limit of detection, expressed as cells per 1 ml) was 150 for IS900, 1500 for F57, and 50 for ISMAP02. The specificity of the method was determined by testing 152 bovine fecal samples. Based on the test, it showed that the assay simultaneously detected the target genes in short period of time and at lower cost compared to laboratory routine tests. The test agreement between the assay and routine test was 94%. The discrepancy in the results was due to samples that were tested positive by the panel but negative by the routine tests, suggesting that the assay has higher sensitivity than the routine tests. In conclusion, the mqPCR assay could be a rapid and accurate testing tool for investigating paratuberculosis or Johne's disease cases in domestic and wild animals.