Implementation of a cost-effective unlabeled probe high-resolution melt assay for genotyping of Factor V Leiden

Genet Test Mol Biomarkers. 2011 Apr;15(4):207-13. doi: 10.1089/gtmb.2010.0137. Epub 2011 Jan 23.

Abstract

The Factor V Leiden mutation (FVL; c.1601G>A, p.Arg534Gln), the most common aberration underlying activated Protein C resistance, results in disruption of a major anticoagulation pathway and is a leading cause of inherited thrombophilia. A high-throughput assay for FVL mutation detection was developed using a single unlabeled probe on a high-resolution platform, the 96-well Roche 480 LightCycler (LC480) instrument. This method replaced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved Roche Factor V Leiden kit assay on the LightCycler PCR instrument, decreasing total cost by 48%. The analytical sensitivity and specificity of the LC480 high-resolution assay approached 100% for the FVL mutation. Factor V mutations in proximity to the FVL locus may influence probe binding efficiency and melt characteristics. One out of three very rare variants tested in a separate study, 1600delC, was not distinguishable from FVL using the described high-resolution assay. However, a c.1598G>A variant, which changes the amino acid sequence from arginine to lysine at position 533, was detected by this high-resolution assay and confirmed by bidirectional sequencing. In the labeled probe LightCycler assay, the c.1598G>A variant was indistinguishable from the heterozygous FVL control. The c.1598G>A variant has not been described previously and its clinical significance is uncertain. In conclusion, the LC480 FVL assay is cost effective in a high-throughput setting, with capability to detect both previously described and novel FV variants.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • DNA Probes
  • Factor V / genetics*
  • Genetic Testing / methods*
  • Genotype
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays
  • Humans
  • Mutation*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / economics*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / instrumentation
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*
  • Thrombophilia / genetics
  • Transition Temperature

Substances

  • DNA Probes
  • factor V Leiden
  • Factor V

Supplementary concepts

  • Thrombophilia, hereditary