Experimental approach for EBV DNA load determination in whole blood and serum.

Fresh whole blood or serum was lysed in guanidine isothiocyanate (GuSCN) buffer, and DNA was isolated by silica-based extraction. EBV status was assessed by qualitative EBNA-1 PCR, and EBV DNA in positive samples was quantified by quantitative competitive PCR. DNA quality was checked with β-globin PCR.