Amplification of Herpes Simplex Virus Types 1 and 2 and Human Herpes Virus Type 5 Polymerase Gene Segment From Formalin-Fixed Brain Tissue From Alzheimer's Disease Patients

摘要

It is known that nucleic acids from formalin-fixed tissues are not nearly as good templates for DNA amplification as those extracted from fresh tissue. However, specimens stored in most pathologic archives are initially fixed in formalin. The possibility of an infectious etiology of several diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), underscores the usefulness of archived tissue in assessing the association of infectious agents with specific pathology. Previous studies have used frozen brain tissue samples and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens to determine whether Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) is present more frequently in Alzheimer's disease brain tissue than in the brains of elderly normal subjects. The DNA extraction method used in this study resulted in extraction of DNA from formalin-fixed brain tissue samples. The neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS1) gene target was amplified and sequenced in all samples tested, in addition to HSV1, HHV2, or Human Herpes virus type 5 (HHV5) from respective samples.