Titration is an important and critical step in dosing recombinant virus for gene therapy. We present a relatively fast, convenient, and sensitive method that allows for precise quantification of recombinant retrovirus. The method is based on PCR amplification of a foreign gene by the PRINS (primer in situ DNA synthesis) technique. The PRINS technique is based on the sequence-specific annealing of unlabeled oligonucleotide DNA in situ. This oligonucleotide operates as a primer for in situ chain elongation catalyzed by the Taq I polymerase. Using digoxygenin-labeled nucleotides as a substrate for chain elongation, the neo-synthetic DNA is labeled by an FITC-conjugated anti-digoxygenin antibody. To avoid the possibility of false positives, we amplified the puromycin-resistance gene, which is associated with the transgene in the same viral vector and is not normally present in mammalian cells. The retroviral titer was evaluated by counting fluorescein isothiocyanate-positive cells after PRINS labeling, while knowing the number of plated cells that were transduced with different amounts of viral supernatant. A comparable viral concentration of 1 x 10(7) infectious units/mL was found among the retroviruses.
Copyright 2001 Academic Press.