Objective: To establish a specific TaqMan-based Real-time PCR assay for the detection of hepatitis E virus (HEV).
Methods: According to the references, primers-probe sets which were located in ORF2, the conservative part of HEV genome were designed and therefore we established a HEV TaqMan real-time RT-PCR assay with great performance of specificity, sensitivity and reproducibility. And then it was used in the detection of HEV RNA in clinical samples.
Results: The HEV Real-time RT-PCR assay established in this study were able to detect HEV RNA with a detection limit of 10 copies/reaction. When the detection of a same sample was repeated for several times, coefficients of variation (CV) was all less than 1.53%. Our data also suggested that there were 1.87 x 10(6)-8.12 x 10(9) RNA copies in 1 ml of the clinical samples.
Conclusion: The TaqMan-based Real-time PCR assay established in this study was specific and precise for the rapid detection of HEV RNA. It was applied successfully in the pathogen detection of clinical samples.