Assessment of PRRSV load in sera and tissues by standard curve quantitative competitive RT-PCR assay

摘要

Detection of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) RNA by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) techniques has become a powerful means of monitoring PRRSV infection, especially in boar semen. These methods are, however, not sufficient to detect quantitative differences of virus activity. Quantitative assessment of PRRSV activity is necessary for a better understanding of PRRSV pathogenesis and potentially an effective monitoring of disease onset and progressin swine herds. Recently, a standard curve quantitative competitive RT-nested PCR (SC-QC-RT-nPCR) assay has been developed for the quantitation of PRRSV RNA in boar semen in our laboratory. By use of a slightly modified SC-QC-RT-PCR assay, we were ableto effectively differentiate the level of PRRSV RNA concentration in sera and tissues obtained from experimentally infected pigs The objective of this study was to determine the level of PRRSV load in sera and tissues during the early phase of experimental infection.