Evaluation of a BK virus real-time PCR assay designed using novel bioinformatics technology

Monitoring of active polyomavirus BK (BKV) infections by quantitative real-time PCR is becoming a progressively more routine practice in the care of renal transplant patients due to the potential for these infections to injure transplanted kidneys. Quantitative BKV results from a previously validated, laboratory-developed real-time PCR assay based on commercially available MGB Alert reagents were compared to results obtained from the same urine and plasma specimens using a commercially designed real-time PCR assay by IntelligentMDx. When compared qualitatively, the two assays performed identically with the exception of one urine specimen in which BKV DNA was detected near the lower limit of quantification by the MGB Alert assay. A quantitative comparison of the results showed an average 0.55 log(10) copies/mL difference between the two assays. These findings suggest that despite small differences, the IntelligentMDx assay could be adopted for clinical BKV monitoring of renal transplant patients.