Nucleic acid sequence—based amplification (nasba) and its application in obstetrical and gynecological practice

Method of isothermal amplification of nucleic acids NASBA {Nucleic Acid Sequence—Based Amplification) is becoming widely used in diagnostic molecular microbiology including diagnostics of infections in pregnant women and newborn infants. NASBA method possesses the unique ability to amplify RNA target selectively in the presence of DNA target of identical sequence, which determines its main application areas: diagnosis of RNA viruses, investigation of bacterial and viral gene expression, diagnosis of bacterial infections based on 16S rRNA detection. In the article the principle and the main steps of the method as well as some applications in diagnostic microbiology are reviewed. In addition, a comparative evaluation of NASBA and other amplification techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse—transcriptase PCR (RT—PCR) is presented.