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  • Investigating the methods used in the PCR method in the laboratory diagnosis of HIV. Review
  • Mohammad Mahdi Behzadifar,1 Sajede Saharkhiz,2,*
    1. Student, Student Research Committee, Faculty of Paramedicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
    2. Student, Student Research Committee, Faculty of Paramedicine, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran


  • Introduction: HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the cells of the immune system and makes the infected person more vulnerable to other infections and diseases. Structurally, HIV consists of two strands of RNA, 15 viral proteins, and several proteins from the last host cell to be infected, all surrounded by a lipid bilayer membrane. It is estimated that 0.7% of people aged 15-49 worldwide live with HIV. AIDS is the last stage of a person's HIV infection and it is when the infection affects the entire immune system of a person. PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) is a laboratory method used to produce large amounts of specific DNA or RNA fragments with a particular length and sequence from small amounts of short oligonucleotide side sequences (primers). Our aim in this study is to investigate the genetic sequences in the PCR method in identifying HIV-positive people.
  • Methods: In this review study, using the keywords "PCR" and "HIV" and "laboratory diagnosis" as well as extracting the synonyms of the keywords from the MeSH database and searching in the articles, we searched in the PubMed and Google Scholar databases. In this study, original articles published in English between 2000 and 2021 were used. The exclusion criterion was lack of access to the full file of articles and not being aligned with the main purpose of this study.
  • Results: In total, according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 4 studies were extracted. The studied samples are divided into three groups: 1- HIV positive people who have symptoms in favor of this disease along with the final laboratory diagnoses 2- HIV negative people who are asymptomatic and their negativity was confirmed by western blot and serology methods. 3- Control panel. Age and gender did not affect the result. 2 studies investigated the gag gene, which was observed on 60 samples (28 negative samples, 19 standard panel samples, 13 pre-specified positive samples) in all positive cases, the desired band was observed on agarose gel, while in none of them No bands were observed from the negative samples. 2 studies investigated the sequence of Y181C, K103N on 161 samples. These two studies showed that both sequences are very sensitive and show excellent correlation in detecting mutations at low frequencies.
  • Conclusion: Conclusion: Certainly, the PCR method is the most accurate method for detecting viral infections such as HIV. The use of different genetic sequences can be useful in identifying the virus and its mutations.
  • Keywords: Keywords: HIV(human immunodeficiency virus), laboratory diagnosis, PCR(Polymerase Chain Reaction)