ArticlePloS one2011
RNA and DNA bacteriophages as molecular diagnosis controls in clinical virology: a comprehensive study of more than 45,000 routine PCR tests.
Article in PloS one, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 87 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
87 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 144 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Development, Characterization, and Validation of an MS2 Phage-Based Armored RNA Control for Schmallenberg Virus Detection.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Widespread circulation of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus in ticks, Corsica (France), 2024.One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2026Article
- Distinguishing active HIV-1 infection from vaccine-induced seropositivity in HIV vaccine trial participants.Science advances · 2025Article
- Bacteriophages as a modern diagnostic tool: innovations, applications and challenges.Molecular biology reports · 2025Review
- Article
- Therapeutic treatment of hepatitis E virus infection in pigs with a neutralizing monoclonal antibody.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- First detection and molecular characterization of Jingmen tick virus with a high occurrence in Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus collected from livestock in Cameroon (2024).Parasites & vectors · 2025Article
- First report of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus exposure in human and livestock populations, Center Region, Cameroon.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Article
- Article
- Molecular Xenomonitoring (MX) allows real-time surveillance of West Nile and Usutu virus in mosquito populations.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Article
- Seroprevalence study in humans and molecular detection in Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus in Thailand.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Immunisation of pigs with recombinant HEV vaccines does not protect from infection with HEV genotype 3.One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2024Article
- Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in Ticks Collected from Cattle, Corsica, France, 2023.Emerging infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Virus-like particles derived from bacteriophage MS2 as antigen scaffolds and RNA protective shells.Nanomedicine (London, England) · 2024Review
- Characterization of a New Toti-like Virus in Sea Bass,Viruses · 2023Article
- Next-Generation Sequencing-Based Monitoring of Intestinal Bacteria and Bacteriophages Following Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Ancestral African Bats Brought Their Cargo of PathogenicPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Analysis of trapped mosquito excreta as a noninvasive method to reveal biodiversity and arbovirus circulation.Molecular ecology resources · 2023Article
- Simple Low-Cost Production of DNA MS2 Virus-Like Particles As Molecular Diagnostic Controls.GEN biotechnology · 2022Article
27 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Real-time PCR techniques are now commonly used for the detection of viral genomes in various human specimens and require for validation both external and internal controls (ECs and ICs). In particular, ICs added to clinical samples are necessary to monitor the extraction, reverse transcription, and amplification steps in order to detect false-negative results resulting from PCR-inhibition or errors in the technical procedure. Here, we performed a large scale evaluation of the use of bacteriophages as ICs in routine molecular diagnosis. This allowed to propose simple standardized procedures (i) to design specific ECs for both DNA and RNA viruses and (ii) to use T4 (DNA) or MS2 (RNA) phages as ICs in routine diagnosis. Various technical formats for using phages as ICs were optimised and validated. Subsequently, T4 and MS2 ICs were evaluated in routine real-time PCR or RT-PCR virological diagnostic tests, using a series of 8,950 clinical samples (representing 36 distinct specimen types) sent to our laboratory for the detection of a variety of DNA and RNA viruses. The frequency of inefficient detection of ICs was analyzed according to the nature of the sample. Inhibitors of enzymatic reactions were detected at high frequency in specific sample types such as heparinized blood and bone marrow (>70%), broncho-alveolar liquid (41%) and stools (36%). The use of T4 and MS2 phages as ICs proved to be cost-effective, flexible and adaptable to various technical procedures of real-time PCR detection in virology. It represents a valuable strategy for enhancing the quality of routine molecular diagnosis in laboratories that use in-house designed diagnostic systems, which can conveniently be associated to the use of specific synthetic ECs. The high rate of inhibitors observed in a variety of specimen types should stimulate the elaboration of improved technical protocols for the extraction and amplification of nucleic acids.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.