QUANTITATIVE PCR - A NEW TOOL FOR CLINICAL INVESTIGATIONS

In 1988, a new kind of quantitative assay for DNA and RNA molecules was reported. It is based on an enzymatic amplification known as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR procedure is widely used and its ability to give rise to quantitative signals has been developed. A number of quantitative PCR protocols have already been described. They differ in the way the amplified DNA is quantified. Since quantitative PCR is very sensitive to sinall variations in the amplification yield, some internal references have to be incorporated in the protocols. This standardization can also be achieved by a number of different methods. The use of internal and external standards is described in detail, as well as the principles of quantification by competition. The principal application's of this emerging technique for clinical investigations are summarised. Its present limits and its possible extension to the quantification of any kind of antigenic molecules are discussed.