Stuart Le Grice, PhD, from the NCI Frederick Laboratory, Frederick, Maryland, described how he and his colleagues have been working to develop a single-copy assay for XMRV DNA, RNA, and serology, based on the assay that was developed for HIV.
"The HIV single copy that was developed at the NCI is regarded as the gold standard assay. We now believe that we have an equivalent assay for XMRV."
Dr. Le Grice and his team have also developed a cell line, dubbed the Derse cell line, which can detect XMRV in as little as 3 days.
He said that the XMRV assay that his lab has developed has been transferred to labs in Sweden, Australia, Vietnam, and South Africa to prove its utility. "Developing an assay is one thing, but transferring it to a laboratory where it can be reproduced is clearly important when we are talking about single copy assay. Contamination is a huge problem, and the ability to transfer these reagents is very important," he noted.
Dr. Le Grice added that the aim of the NCI is to make sure that the assays they have developed are as valid as possible. "Our goal is to develop a series of assays that we feel confident in and to test those head to head with other assays. I think that is really important at the moment. We should start with 6 assays in house, and if we have a problem, I think it is important to sit amongst ourselves and try to understand where those problems are before we disagree with anybody else's assay."