Detection of coxsackievirus B3 in intestinal tissue of orally-infected mice by a standardized RT-PCR assay

Background: Previous studies have reported the role of enteroviruses in chronic diseases, using in-house RT-PCR protocols. A well-standardized PCR assay (Amplicor enterovirus, Produits Roche) designed for the diagnosis of enterovirus meningitis in cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) was recently described.

Objectives: To evaluate this commercially-available PCR assay for the detection of enterovirus in intestinal biopsies.

Study design: In order to obtain large quantities of infected material, eight mice were inoculated orally with 2×10⁵ 50% tissue culture infective doses (TCID₅₀) of coxsackievirus B3 (CBV3); two mice were sacrificed every day from day 1 to day 4 post-infection. Stool specimens and small bowel fragments were taken from infected animals and controls. Four protocols of RNA extraction from intestinal tissue were compared. Extracted RNA was then tested by the Amplicor assay and by a seminested in-house PCR.

Results: The best results were obtained with a commercial reagent using a combination of guanidium thiocyanate and phenol (TRI Reagent, Sigma). This procedure allowed the detection of enteroviral RNA in intestinal samples of 7/8 and 8/8 infected mice by Amplicor assay and seminested PCR, respectively, whereas only five samples were tested positive by conventional cell culture. When tested on serial dilutions of CBV3 mixed with intestinal tissue, a sensitivity of 0.2 TCID₅₀/mg was achieved with both PCR assays.

Conclusions: The data demonstrate that the Amplicor enterovirus assay, which is designed to avoid false-positive amplifications, can be used, with a slight modification of the RNA extraction step, for the detection of enterovirus in specimens different from CSF such as intestinal tissue.