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From the Department of Pathology,
*
University of Miami, Miami, Florida; the Blood Center of Southeastern Wisconsin,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and the Department of Pathology and TriCore Reference Laboratories,
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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A non-PCR-dependent methodology, Invader technology, has been developed
(Third Wave Technologies, Inc., Madison, WI) and applied to detect the
FVL and other mutations.12, 13, 14, 15
The Invader assay,
described schematically in Figure 1
, can
simultaneously provide linear signal amplification for target
quantitation and discriminate single nucleotide changes, such as the
FVL mutation, directly from genomic DNA without the need for prior
target amplification. A microtiter plate-based format makes the assay
adaptable for small or high-throughput clinical laboratory settings.
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The first-generation Invader assay has been reported previously13 ; the studies described in this paper use the second generation of Invader technology. The design of the second-generation Invader assay differs from the first generation in four respects, offering several advantages in assay performance and data collection. First, the second-generation Invader assay uses a simple, isothermal format. In contrast, the first-generation assay required two different temperatures and separate additions for the primary and secondary reactions. Second, both the cleaved and uncleaved primary probes could bind stably to the secondary target in the first-generation assay. Arrestor oligonucleotides were added to bind excess uncleaved primary probes. In the second-generation assay, uncleaved primary probes do not bind stably to the FRET probe, so arrestors are not needed. Third, the second-generation Invader assay employs a single synthetic oligonucleotide that combines both target and a fluorescent-labeled signal probe in the second cleavage reaction, whereas the first-generation Invader assay used two separate synthetic oligonucleotides (a secondary target and a secondary fluorescent-labeled signal probe) to generate a fluorescent signal after cleavage. The identical FRET probe can be used with different analytes, for two reasons. The identity of the 3' terminal base of the primary or secondary Invader oligo does not affect the efficiency of the reaction, and the target-independent 5' flap of the primary probe complements only the FRET probe. These design features enable the use of a "universal" secondary system with second-generation Invader technology. Fourth, the second-generation Invader assay permits direct reading of assay results, although this method was not used in the studies reported here.
Figure 1
shows a schematic of the Invader assay, illustrating how it
detects the DNA mutation of interest. In the Invader assay, two
oligonucleotides, a wild-type (WT) or mutant (Mut) probe
oligonucleotide and an Invader oligonucleotide, hybridize in tandem to
a specific region of DNA to generate the precise overlapping structure
recognized by the Cleavase VIII enzyme. This structure includes an
unpaired flap on the 5' end of the downstream probe (WT or Mut)
oligonucleotide. Once the proper structure is formed (Figure 1A)
, the
Cleavase VIII enzyme cleaves the 5' flap, releasing it as a
target-specific product. The released flap now serves as an Invader
oligonucleotide in a second invasive cleavage reaction on a labeled,
synthetic target, the FRET probe (Figure 1A)
. The FRET probe is 5'-end
labeled with a donor fluorophore, fluorescein (F), that is quenched by
Cy3, an acceptor dye (Q). Cleavage separates the fluorescein and the
quencher and produces the 5' fluorescein-labeled product that is
detected with a fluorescence microtiter plate reader. If the precise
invasive structure is not formed in the first step, as in the case of
Mut target tested with WT probe (Figure 1B)
, cleavage will not occur in
either the primary or the secondary reaction, and no or a minimal
fluorescent signal will be generated. The identity of the 3' terminal
base of an Invader oligo does not affect the efficiency of the
reaction. As a result, the identical primary Invader oligonucleotide
can be used with both wild-type and mutant targets. Further, the
cleavage products from both the mutant and the wild-type primary
reactions can be used with the same secondary system.
The target DNA is the limiting component in the first invasive cleavage, and Invader and probe oligonucleotides are supplied in molar excess. Reactions are carried out at temperatures near the melting temperature (Tm) of the analyte-specific region of the WT or Mut probe; so the probes turn over without temperature cycling to produce many signals per target (ie, linear signal amplification).12 Similarly, the released 5' flap from the primary reaction is limiting in the second invasive cleavage reaction relative to the molar concentration of the FRET probe. At the temperature of the assay, each target-specific product (the released 5' flap) cycles readily on and off cleaved and uncleaved FRET probes in the second invasive cleavage reaction. Consequently, each target-specific product of the primary reaction can enable the cleavage of many FRET probes in the secondary reaction to further amplify the target-specific signal. The fluorescent signal from the composite reaction accumulates linearly with respect to the target DNA. Because these two coupled cleavage reactions occur simultaneously, they can produce 106 to 107 labeled cleavage products per target sequence per hour, producing at least a million-fold increase in signal.
A multisite study was performed in clinical laboratories to compare the genotyping for FVL of patient samples with the Invader assay and either PCR-RFLP or AS-PCR. The data show that the Invader method provides results concordant with the standard techniques in more than 99.5% of the samples on initial testing.
| Materials and Methods |
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Sample Preparation
Genomic DNA was extracted either from the buffy coat or directly
from whole blood treated with sodium citrate, EDTA, or acid citrate
dextrose (ACD). Different extraction techniques were used at the
various study sites. Table 1
summarizes
the specimen type and method used at each site. All archived samples
(157 samples, 42%) used in this study were stored for no longer than
24 months at -20°C or colder.
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AS-PCR and PCR-RFLP
AS-PCR-based genotyping, conducted at sites one and
three, was performed essentially as previously
described.11, 16, 17
Site one used
5'-GGGGGACAATTTTCAATATATTTTCTTTCAGGCAG-3' for the factor V forward
consensus primer and either 5'-GGGGGTTCAAGGACAAAATACCTGTATTCCAC-3' for
the wild-type factor V reverse primer or
5'-GGGGGTTCAAGGACAAAATACCTGTATTCCAT-3' for the mutant FVL reverse
primer, along with the appropriate primers for
methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase and prothrombin genotyping.
Because most individuals are homozygous wild-type for these three
alleles, the mutant reaction used an antisense prothrombin
consensus primer as an internal positive control.11
Site
three used 5'-AGGAACAACACCATGATC-3' for the factor V forward consensus
primer, either 5'-GGACAAAATACCTGTATTCCAC-3' for the wild-type factor V
reverse primer or 5'-GGACAAAATACCTGTATTCCAT-3' for the mutant FVL
reverse primer. Two primers for the human growth hormone (HGH) gene
were used as internal positive controls: HGH1
(5'-TGCCTTCCCAACCATTCCCTTA-3') and HGH2
(5'-CCACTCACGGATTTCTGTTGTGTTTC-3').
Site two used PCR-RFLP, using the loss of an Mnl1 restriction site caused by the G-to-A transition at nucleotide 1691 of the factor V gene.3 The primers used were 5'-TGCCCAGTGCTTAACAAGACCA-3' (sense primer, nt 1581 to 1602) and 5'-TGTTATCACACTGGTGCTAA-3' (anti-sense primer, nt -146 to -127).
Invader Assay
All components of the Invader assay were provided by Third Wave
Technologies, Inc. (Madison, WI). Five microliters (5 µl) of
Target/Primary Invader Reaction Mix (PEG 8000, MOPS pH 7.5, the
antimicrobial preservative ProClin 300 (Supelco, Bellefonte, PA) and
0.1 µmol/L Invader oligonucleotide) were dispensed into 96-well
microplates. Ten microliters of patient DNA sample at a DNA
concentration of at least 7 ng/µl or the appropriate control were
added with mixing. For each run, wild-type, heterozygous, and mutant
target controls, and no target blanks (negative controls) were tested.
The heterozygous and mutant synthetic target controls were
oligonucleotides. Mixtures were overlaid with 20 µl clear
Chill-Out 14 (MJ Research, Watertown, MA). The no target
blanks (yeast tRNA) were used to determine probe-specific background
values for each. The oligonucleotide sequences for the target site on
the wild-type and Factor V Leiden mutant sequence were
3'-AGATTAGACATTCTCGTCTAGGGACCTGTCCGCTCCTTATGTCCATAAAACAGGA-5'
and
3'-AGATTAGACATTCTCGTCTAGGGACCTGTCCGTTCCTTATGTCCATAAAACAGGA-5',
respectively; the C-to-T change is shown in bold. Samples were
denatured by incubation at 95°C for 5 minutes. in an M-J Model
PTC-100 thermocycler (MJ Research), a GeneAmp PCR System
9600 Thermal cycler (Perkin-Elmer, Norwalk, CT), or a GeneAmp PCR
System 9700 Thermal cycler (Perkin-Elmer) before the assay. The
temperature was lowered to 63°C and 5 µl of the appropriate
Cleavase enzyme/Mg2+/probe reaction mix was added
to each well, giving a final reaction volume of 20 µl with final
concentrations of 3.2% PEG 8000, 2.5 mmol/L MOPS, 0.025% ProClin 300
(Supelco), 25 nmol/L Invader oligonucleotide, 0.5 µmol/L wild-type or
mutant probe, 0.5 µmol/L FRET probe, 7.5 mmol/L
MgCl2, and 200 ng Cleavase VIII enzyme. The
microplate was incubated at 63°C for 4 hours, and the reaction was
stopped by adding 100 µl stop solution (10 mmol/L EDTA).
One hundred microliters of each reaction were transferred to a Costar solid black 96-well microtiter plate (Corning, Inc., Acton, MA) and read either in a CytoFluor Series 4000 fluorescence multiwell plate reader (PerSeptive Biosystems, Framingham, MA) using the following settings: excitation: 485/20 nm (wavelength/bandwidth); emission: 530/25 nm (wavelength/bandwidth); gain: approximately 4065 (to yield no target counts of 150200); reads/well: 30; set temp: 25°C; and plate type: CoStar 96-well or CytoPlate 96-well, or in a Dynex Fluorite 1000 fluorescence multiwell plate reader (Dynex Technologies, Inc., Chantilly, VA) using the following settings: excitation: 485 nm; emission: 530 nm; gain: 34V; and plate type: standard 96-well.
Data Analysis
Net counts for each probe signal were calculated by subtracting
the appropriate no target blank signal (background) for the run from
the corresponding probe signal. Determination of genotype was based on
the ratio of the net counts (wild-type reaction) to the net counts
(mutant reaction) as described below:
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Sample and Assay Inclusion Criteria
All assayed samples contained at least 70 ng DNA/assay. Acceptable
signal strength was defined as net wild-type or net mutant counts
greater than 30. Any sample that did not meet this criterion was
re-assayed. Any sample that had acceptable signal strength but yielded
a ratio in the equivocal range was re-assayed. If any controls yielded
an incorrect genotype determination, the assay was considered invalid
and the run was repeated.
| Results |
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Two samples did not meet sample inclusion criteria and had to be rerun
for inclusion in the study. A sample from site one had unacceptably low
signal strength. The retest produced net counts greater than 30 and
yielded results concordant with the standard technique. A sample from
site two produced equivocal results (a ratio
3 but <5), and the
retest yielded results concordant with PCR. Two runs were invalid
because of incorrect calls of the synthetic target controls. The runs
were valid on repeat.
The accuracy of the Invader assay is illustrated by Figure 2
, which graphically depicts the actual distribution of the data points.
All three classes (homozygous mutant, heterozygote, and wild-type) are
clearly separated, with the exception of the single wild-type sample
that fell into the equivocal range and that was resolved on retesting
(discussed above). The upper limit in the net count ratios (shown
above) for classifying a sample as homozygous mutant was 0.25, but no
homozygous mutant sample yielded a ratio more than half that value. The
upper and lower ratio limits for classifying a sample as heterozygous
were less than or equal to 0.25 to less than 3.0, but the actual range
of ratios for samples (0.492.19) was well within those limits. The
lower cutoff value for classifying a sample as wild-type
was 5, but no wild-type sample in this study produced a ratio lower
than 7.8. Ratios greater than 10 were noted in 99% (313/316) of
wild-type samples.
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| Discussion |
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Not all clinical laboratories have on-site facilities or the expertise for PCR-RFLP or AS-PCR genotyping, and therefore they must refer samples to outside laboratories. This practice can add significant time and expense to the patient evaluation. The availability of a rapid, simple assay with a streamlined workflow would allow many clinical laboratories to use the more definitive molecular assay to detect the FVL mutation. The Invader assay offers such an option. The Invader assay requires few reagent additions and is run isothermally in a microtiter plate, simplifying equipment needs and reducing lab space requirements and hands-on time. Although thermocyclers were used in this study, the Invader assay has been run successfully in heat blocks and water baths.
The ease of integrating Invader technology smoothly into routine clinical laboratory workflow makes it an attractive alternative to target amplification methods, such as PCR, which require separation of pre- and post-PCR areas and special procedures to minimize contamination. In PCR-RFLP, each target must be amplified separately in individual reactions. In addition, different targets may need different endonuclease enzymes for digestion. Further, both PCR-RFLP and AS-PCR require gel electrophoresis for endpoint determination. Each of these steps can affect the hands-on time and the time to reportable results.
In contrast, the uniform reaction conditions used in the Invader assay permit detection of multiple targets from the same sample, simply by using different wells of the microtiter plate for each analyte-specific probe set. This procedure is performed directly on genomic DNA and accumulates signal molecules only when the specific target DNA sequence is present, without the risk of carryover contamination associated with PCR. To produce a strong signal, the Invader assay requires at least 70 ng of DNA template per reaction. We did not investigate the sensitivity of this assay to lower amounts of DNA template, but anecdotally, runs performed outside this study with less DNA template produce considerably less signal.
Notably, the Invader assay requires no special facilities and the training time is shorter than that required for PCR. The FVL Invader assay offers an easy setup and involves a series of simple pipetting steps followed by reading the plate on a fluorescence microtiter plate reader. Total hands-on times for the Invader assay and AS-PCR are about 1 to 1.25 hours, and about 2 hours for PCR-RFLP. In practice, results are available from Invader assays within 1 working day. Typically, PCR-RFLP results are available in 2 working days.
Invader assays have a distinct specificity advantage over assays based solely on hybridization (eg, AS-PCR amplification, chip arrays, dot blots). As shown in this study, Invader technology provides greater than 99% accuracy in a simple and reliable platform. The combination of site-specific hybridization and structure-specific enzymatic cleavage confers remarkable specificity and robustness to the assay.19 In addition, this requirement limits cross-reactivity arising from nonspecific hybridization and obviates the need for stringent hybridization conditions. The homogeneous reaction conditions used in the Invader assay make this assay format well suited to automation. We did not correlate our genotypic results with phenotypic APC resistance assays or clinical parameters, because the laboratories in this study serve as reference laboratories and those data were not available in our study. The samples studied here were referred to reference laboratories, which likely accounts for the slightly lower rate of positive FVL mutations in our study than would be expected in a true thrombotic population.
Additional probe sets for genetic hemostatic risk factors, such as the prothrombin (factor II) G20210A20 and the MTHFR C677A mutations,21, 22 are in final development. Assays using these probe sets will be run under the same reaction conditions as the FVL assay. This means that assays for all three risk factors can be performed in the same run, simply by using different wells of the microtiter plate for each analyte-specific probe set. Invader technology is designed to use a universal secondary system. The 5' flap released from any probe oligonucleotide in the primary cleavage reaction is identical and complements the uniform FRET probe. Consequently, the secondary cleavage reaction can function with almost any primary probe oligonucleotide. Employing the same FRET probe to characterize different targets simplifies assay development, streamlines workflow, and reduces costs. Invader technology has already been used for simultaneous quantitation of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) viral load and detection of the L515 mol/L mutation for Lamivudine resistance from the same specimens.23
Two samples of the 372 tested gave results discordant with the PCR-RFLP method. Retesting both Invader and PCR-RFLP yielded results concordant with the original PCR-RFLP results. In one case, a heterozygous sample called homozygous mutant by the Invader assay, the discrepancy was due to a failure to add genomic DNA to the well. In the second case, a heterozygous sample called wild-type, there was no obvious cause for the discrepancy. In this second case, the ratio of net wild-type probe counts to net mutation probe counts was 5.04 on the initial run and 0.76 on the second run. Thus, the ratio on the erroneous run was just above the threshold used in the study for identifying a wild-type genotype.
Laboratories designing strategies for using the Invader technology for clinical testing may consider several means to improve accuracy from the 99.5% accuracy that we experienced. One option would be to perform all assays in duplicate, resolving discrepancies with a third run or an independent method. Less expensive measures can also be devised that will address the types of discordant results experienced in this study. To this end, authors at one of the sites in this study (T. M. W. and C. M.) have adopted the following measures. First, operators are reminded to carefully inspect volumes in wells to ensure that genomic DNA has been added. Second, results are not accepted from sample wells whose raw signals with the wild-type or mutant probe are not at least 50% of the signal obtained for no target controls. Third, we confirm homozygous mutant calls with a duplicate Invader test and a PCR-RFLP test, since R506Q homozygosity is uncommon and the clinical implications are substantial. These steps are likely to be helpful in reducing errors due to failure to add genomic DNA to a well. Fourth, since the completion of this study, we have used an expanded equivocal range of ratios of 2 to 50 to distinguish heterozygous and wild-type genotypes. In 381 additional assays performed with the expanded equivocal range after the end of this study (unpublished data), we encountered six equivocal ratios. We retyped these with Invader and PCR-RFLP assays. Four samples (ratios of 3.6, 23.4, 3.2, and 11.3) resolved as wild-type on retyping. Two samples (ratios of 5.7 and 5.9) resolved as heterozygotes on retyping. Thus, the use of an expanded equivocal range with retyping may be useful in detecting rare samples yielding ratios of 5 to 6 that are truly heterozygous.
Assays based on Invader technology provide an uncomplicated, homogeneous platform sensitive enough to allow direct detection from genomic DNA without the need for PCR amplification and specific enough to discriminate single-basepair changes. This single technology can be used to diagnose a wide spectrum of genetically based diseases,13 to detect specific single nuclear polymorphisms,12, 15 to quantitate viral loads,23, 24, 25 and to test for drug resistance/mutations,26, 27, 28 providing a flexible platform with a wide breadth of applications for the clinical setting.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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Accepted for publication March 15, 2000.
| References |
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