Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus-Related Virus (XMRV) TaqMan RT-PCR Detection Kits

Overview

Detection kits for XMRV
Available in TaqMan format for analysis

Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) is a gammaretrovirus. The virus was first described in 2006 and has since been isolated from human biological samples. XMRV belongs to the family Retroviridae and the genus gammaretrovirus. It has a single-stranded RNA genome that replicates through a DNA intermediate. The virus gets its name due to its close relationship with the murine leukemia viruses (MuLVs). The viral genome is approximately 8100 nucleotides in length and is 95% identical with several endogenous retroviruses of mice. While gammaretroviruses have well-characterized oncogenic effects in animals, they have not been shown to cause human cancers. However, XMRV was recently discovered in human prostate cancers and is the first gammaretrovirus known to infect humans. In addition to prostate cancer, a possible association with chronic fatigue syndrome has been reported, however it has yet to be established whether XMRV is a cause of this disease.

The causal role of XMRV in cancer has yet to be established and the virus does not appear to be capable of transforming cells directly. In prostate cancer, XMRV protein has been found in tumour-associated but nonmalignant stromal cells, but not in the actual prostate cancer cells. This raises the possibility that the virus may support tumorigenesis. In other studies, XMRV proteins and nucleic acids were found in malignant cells.

Details

Supporting Data

Figure 1 / 3

Click for expanded view

Storage Conditions and Product Stability
All kit components can be stored for 1 year after the date of production without showing any reduction in performance.

All kit components should be stored at -20°C upon arrival. Repeated thawing and freezing (> 2 x) of the Master Mix and Positive Control should be avoided, as this may affect the performance of the assay. If the reagents are to be used only intermittently, they should be frozen in aliquots.

Component	Cat. TM34750 (100 preps)	Cat. TM34710 (100 preps)
MDx TaqMan 2X PCR Master Mix	2 x 700 μL	–
XMRV Primer & Probe Mix	280 μL	280 μL
XMRV Positive Control	150 μL	150 μL
Nuclease-Free Water (Negative Control)	1.25 mL	1.25 mL
Product Insert	1	1