Superior samples • Proven performance

Case study
Genotyping of cytomegalovirus from toddlers’ saliva
samples collected with OMNIgene®•ORAL†
Sophie Alain

CHU Limoges, Laboratoire de Bactériologie-Virologie
Centre National de Référence des Cytomégalovirus, Limoges, France

Study overview
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a viral genus in the family of herpes viruses. Although
they may be found throughout the body, CMV infections are frequently associatedwith the salivary glands. CMV infection is a life-long condition and is a leading
cause of sensorineural loss and central nervous system damage. CMV is also the virus
most frequently transmitted to a developing fetus from the mother. CMV seems
to have a large impact on immune parameters in later life and may contribute toincreased morbidity and eventual mortality.
Dr. Alain and the research team at the Université of Limoges Faculté of Médicine
developed a new PCR-RFLP method for rapid screening of human cytomegalovirus(CMV) in large populations. The prevalence of CMV in children is quite high aschildren are often exposed to CMV through breast-feeding or contact with otherinfected children in environments such as daycare centers or school. The researchteam chose to study the CMV virus in children (aged 1–3 years old) to access adiversity of strains in hopes of assisting with vaccine development.

Main challenges
The primary challenge for this study was the age of the study participants (toddlers).
A non-invasive method to collect samples of sufficient quality was required tominimize the impact on the young children.

Collection methods considered
Other collection methods previously evaluated for CMV genotyping included
twisting diapers to collect urine from the young children.

† Samples for the study were collected with a DNA Genotek kit which the company developed into the commercially available
OMNIgene•ORAL OM-501 product.

For research use only,
not for use in diagnostic procedures.
Not available for clinical diagnostic
use in the United States.

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Why OMNIgene®•ORAL
Dr. Alain and her team of researchers believed that offering a non-invasive,
saliva-based collection device would be the best option for the cohort of very
young patients participating in this study. They heard about DNA Genotek
through internet research for materials suitable for saliva sampling andDNA detection. OMNIgene•ORAL provides a completely non-invasive andeasy-to-use option for collecting microbial DNA while meeting the requirements
for both high quality and high quantity DNA.

Results“The possibility to screen human
CMV strains directly from saliva
offers both simple non-invasive
screening from any population,and identification of field
isolates through a major wayof transmission to infants or
pregnant women.”‡Over 200 CMV-positive saliva samples were successfully collected from toddlers at
6 day care centers and at the emergency unit of the local hospital with a precursor
to OMNIgene•ORAL†. The research team was able to identify 112 strains of CMV
that fell into eight groups. As a result, they were able to validate that their new
PCR-RFLP method for rapid screening of CMV genotypes can simultaneously
determine multiple genotypes of CMV and offer a more precise classification ofCMV strains than previous RFLP-based methods.

Sophie Alain† Samples for the study were collected with a DNA Genotek kit which the company developed into the commerciallyavailable OMNIgene•ORAL OM-501 product.
‡ Grosjean J. et al. Direct genotyping of cytomegalovirus envelope glycoproteins from toddler’s saliva samples.
J Clin Virol (2009), doi:10.1016/j.jcv.2009.08.018

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Superior samples • Proven performance
MK-00050 Issue 2/2015-06© 2015 DNA Genotek Inc., a subsidiary of OraSure Technologies, Inc., all rights reserved.

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