Patent ID: 6277579
Filing Date: 2001-08-21
Classification: C12Q

Abstract:
A method for detecting RNA, the method comprising,(a) mixing an immobilized primer and a reverse transcriptase lacking RNA/DNA hybrid-dependent exonuclease function with a sample, wherein the primer is complementary to a region of an RNA molecule of interest in the sample,(b) incubating under conditions that promote reverse transcription, wherein an RNA/DNA hybrid is formed if the RNA molecule of interest is present in the sample, and wherein the RNA/DNA hybrid is a hybrid of the RNA molecule of interest and a reverse transcribed DNA molecule complementary to the RNA molecule of interest,(c) mixing an antibody specific for RNA/DNA hybrids with the sample, wherein the antibody binds to the RNA/DNA hybrid to form an antibody-RNA/DNA hybrid conjugate, and(d) detecting the antibody-RNA/DNA hybrid conjugate, wherein the presence of the antibody-RNA/DNA hybrid conjugate indicates the presence of the RNA molecule of interest in the sample.