Applications of recombinant DNA to pathologic diagnosis

Recombinant DNA techniques are contributing to the understanding of the pathogeneses of genetic, neoplastic, and viral diseases, and are used in the diagnosis of certain genetic and viral diseases. Such techniques will have wider application in the future and will play an increasing role in the clinical laboratory. The technology of this field rests upon the cleavage of DNA by certain enzymes, restriction endonucleases, and upon the ability to locate specific sequences of nucleotides in a cleaved DNA sample by using known fragments of DNA ("probes") labeled with radioisotopes or biotin. To produce useful probes, one "clones" multiple copies of the same DNA fragment in bacteria. The use of DNA probes in the clinical laboratory is valuable in antenatal diagnosis, genetic counseling, and post-natal diagnosis of genetic diseases, especially hematologic diseases and inborn errors of metabolism. DNA probes can also be used to detect viral genetic material in clinical specimens.