Characterization of the quantitative HCV NASBA assay

A quantitative nucleic acid sequence-based amplification assay (NASBA-QT) for detection of hepatitis C virus RNA (HCV-RNA) was evaluated and compared with the HCV branched-DNA (bDNA) assay (Chiron Corporation) and the HCV MONITOR assay (Roche Diagnostic Systems). For this evaluation five panels were designed: (1) serial dilutions of genotype 1b in-vitro HCV-RNA; (2) standards of in-vitro HCV-RNA genotypes 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4, and 5; (3) a proficiency panel consisting of 12 HCV-RNA positive plasma samples of different genotypes and HCV-RNA concentrations and a genotype 1a and 1b 3-fold dilution series; (4) a panel of 67 HCV-RNA positive plasma samples obtained from patients with HCV infection and (5) an HCV-RNA positive control sample, diluted 50-fold in 25 different HCV-RNA negative plasma samples. The quantitative detection limit was found to be 10(3) copies per 100 microl and the qualitative detection limit 10(2.3) per 100 microl. The amplification efficiency was independent of the plasma matrix, but dependent on the HCV genotype. The HCV NASBA-QT assay was more than 10 times as sensitive as the bDNA assay while the quantitative results of both assays were highly concordant. The HCV NASBA-QT assay was comparable in sensitivity with the HCV MONITOR assay, but the HCV MONITOR assay yielded consistently lower values. It is concluded that the HCV NASBA-QT assay is a reliable assay for quantitative HCV-RNA detection in various settings.