Prospects For the Use of Loop Isothermal Amplification in the Diagnosis of Particularly Dangerous Infectious Diseases Caused by the Viruses of the Pathogenicity Group I

Abstract

Dangerous viral infectious diseases pose a serious threat to human life and health, as their uncontrolled spread leads to the development of major outbreaks and epidemics. Rapid and accurate detection of the pathogen is an essential component of the fight against infectious diseases. This review is devoted to loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), which is one of the simplest and most reliable methods of molecular-genetic research that meets modern requirements. The simplicity of the analysis and registration of the obtained results, which is necessary under conditions with minimal laboratory capacities, makes it possible to consider this type of diagnostic technology as the most promising, which allows us to identify genetic markers (DNA or RNA) of pathogens of dangerous infectious diseases in the shortest possible time. Objective of the review is to summarize and systematize the data available to date on the use of LAMP for detecting RNA of dangerous infectious diseases caused by the Ebola,Marburg and Lassa viruses. The paper discusses the basic principles of the loop isothermal amplification reaction, the components that make up the reaction mixture and are used for the analysis, as well as methods for detecting the results obtained. When studying the information available in the literature sources about the advantages and disadvantages of LAMP, it is shown that in many cases, isothermal amplification is not inferior in sensitivity and specificity to the main molecular-genetic diagnostic methods currently used. Modifications that can be used for accelerated diagnostics of RNA-containing viruses are also considered.

Keywords

• loop-mediated isothermal amplification
• lamp
• molecular diagnostics
• ebola virus
• marburg virus
• lassa virus