Study: Presence of Murine Leukemia Virus Related Gene Sequences Found in CFS Patients finally published
Shortlink: http://wp.me/p5foE-31Z
Discussion thread on Phoenix Rising Forums:
Media
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100262656
More Evidence Virus Plays Role in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Condition afflicts a million Americans, but cause, treatments remain elusive
By Jenifer Goodwin HealthDay Reporter
The Scientist
Q&A: Why I delayed XMRV paper, The Scientist – Magazine of the Life Sciences
http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/57628/
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703846604575447744076968322.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Dr Judy Mikovitz on paper on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZEwQUg7o6I&feature=channel
CFS Central Blog by Mindy Kitei
http://www.cfscentral.com/2010/08/fdanihharvard-xmrv-study-same-thing.html
The just-released study detects variants of the retrovirus XMRV in most CFS patients. In addition, nearly 7 percent of the healthy U.S. controls—all of whom are blood donors—test positive, signaling the contamination of the U.S. blood supply…
…the authors state that their conclusions “clearly support” the October 2009 Science paper linking a retrovirus to the neuroimmune disease Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), which afflicts 17 million people worldwide…
…Most surprising is that the PNAS study didn’t find XMRV, which stands for Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus-Related Virus, in any patients or controls. Instead, the researchers—from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the FDA and Harvard Medical School—detected novel close cousins to XMRV called MLVs—which stands for Murine Leukemia Viruses—in 86.5 percent of 37 patients and nearly 7 percent of 44 controls.
Paper: Detection of MLV-related virus gene sequences in blood of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and healthy blood donors
Supporting information: [PDF = 4MB]
Download here:
http://www.pnas.org/content/suppl/2010/08/16/1006901107.DCSupplemental
Full paper:
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/08/16/1006901107.full.pdf+html
Or open here, on ME agenda: Full paper
Editorial: Editorial 23.0810
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/08/16/1012027107.full.pdf+html
Commentary: Commentary 23.08.10
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/08/16/1007944107.full.pdf+html
Abstract
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/08/16/1006901107
Detection of MLV-related virus gene sequences in blood of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and healthy blood donors
1. Shyh-Ching Lo a , 1 ,
2. Natalia Pripuzova a ,
3. Bingjie Li a ,
4. Anthony L. Komaroff b ,
5. Guo-Chiuan Hung a ,
6. Richard Wang c , and
7. Harvey J. Alter c , 1+ Author Affiliations
1.
aTissue Microbiology Laboratory, Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies and Division of Human Tissues, Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapy, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, MD 20892;
2.
bDepartment of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115; and
3.
cDepartment of Transfusion Medicine, The Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 208921.
Contributed by Harvey J. Alter, May 25, 2010 (sent for review March 23, 2010)
Abstract
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a serious systemic illness of unknown cause. A recent study identified DNA from a xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 68 of 101 patients (67%) by nested PCR, as compared with 8 of 218 (3.7%) healthy controls. However, four subsequent reports failed to detect any murine leukemia virus (MLV)-related virus gene sequences in blood of CFS patients. We examined 41 PBMC-derived DNA samples from 37 patients meeting accepted diagnostic criteria for CFS and found MLV-like virus gag gene sequences in 32 of 37 (86.5%) compared with only 3 of 44 (6.8%) healthy volunteer blood donors. No evidence of mouse DNA contamination was detected in the PCR assay system or the clinical samples. Seven of 8 gag-positive patients tested again positive in a sample obtained nearly 15 y later. In contrast to the reported findings of near-genetic identity of all XMRVs, we identified a genetically diverse group of MLV-related viruses. The gag and env sequences from CFS patients were more closely related to those of polytropic mouse endogenous retroviruses than to those of XMRVs and were even less closely related to those of ecotropic MLVs. Further studies are needed to determine whether the same strong association with MLV-related viruses is found in other groups of patients with CFS, whether these viruses play a causative role in the development of CFS, and whether they represent a threat to the blood supply.
* xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus
* murine leukemia virus-like virus
* viral gag gene sequence
* polytropic
* mouse mitochondria DNA PCRFootnotes
1To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: shyhching.lo@FDA.hhs.gov or halter@mail.nih.gov .
Author contributions: S.-C.L., N.P., and B.L. designed research; G.-C.H. designed mouse-specific mitochondria PCR assay; N.P. and B.L. performed research; B.L. and R.W. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; S.-C.L., N.P., G.-C.H., and R.W. analyzed data; and S.-C.L., N.P., A.L.K., and H.J.A. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1006901107/-/DCSupplemental .
Newswire
Study: Presence of Murine Leukemia Virus Related Gene Sequences Found in CFS Patients
Download image SILVER SPRING, Md., Aug. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Researchers have found murine leukemia viruses (MLV) related gene sequences in blood samples collected from patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and some healthy blood donors, according to a study published online today by the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090824/FDALOGO )
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090824/FDALOGO )
Investigators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, in collaboration with a physician scientist at Harvard Medical School, examined blood samples from 37 patients diagnosed with CFS and from 44 healthy blood donors.
MLV is a type of retrovirus known to cause cancer in mice. Several different MLV gene sequences were identified in samples from 32 of the 37 patients with CFS (87 percent) and 3 of the 44 (7 percent) healthy blood donors. Investigators performed DNA sequencing on all positively amplified samples to confirm MLV like gene sequences.
This study supports a previous investigation [Lombardi et al. Science October 23, 2009 326: 585] that showed XMRV, a genetic variant of MLV-like viruses, to be present in the blood of people with CFS. The study demonstrates a strong association between a diagnosis of CFS and the presence of MLV-like virus gene sequences in the blood. The study also showed that MLV-like viral gene sequences were detected in a small fraction of healthy blood donors. Although the statistical association with CFS is strong, this study does NOT prove that these retroviruses are the cause of CFS. Further studies are necessary to determine if XMRV or other MLV-related viruses can cause CFS.
A previous study, published in 2009, reported finding XMRV infections in a high percentage of CFS patients and a small percentage of healthy blood donors. However, several other studies from the United States (including a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands have found no evidence of XMRV or other MLV-like viruses in the blood of people with CFS.
For more information:
FDA MLV Gene Sequence Study – Questions and Answers http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/ucm223232.html
CDC – XMRV Overview
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/bp_xmrv.html
CDC – XMRV Questions & Answers
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/bp_xmrv_qa.html
Media Inquiries: Shelly Burgess, 301-796-4651, shelly.burgess@fda.hhs.gov
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA
SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration
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News Advisory
Scientists to discuss research on XMRV in blood, chronic fatigue syndrome
What:
Telebriefing by experts from the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to respond to questions about this study. The paper is currently under embargo until Monday, August 23 at 3:00 p.m., by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Who:
Harvey Alter, M.D., Chief, Clinical Studies and Associate Director for Research, Department of Transfusion Medicine, NIH Clinical Center
Shyh-Ching Lo, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Tissue Safety Laboratory Program, Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies and Division of Human Tissues, Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies, Food and Drug Administration Food and Drug Administration
Celia Witten, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies, Food and Drug Administration
Hira Nakhasi, Ph.D., Director, Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, Office of Blood Research and Review, Food and Drug Administration
Steve Monroe, Ph.D., Director, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
When:
Monday, August 23, 3:01 p.m. EDT
How: Reporters should call 1-888-677-4212 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-888-677-4212 end_of_the_skype_highlighting and enter passcode 9258555. For those unable to participate, the briefing will be available on replay approximately two hours after briefing concludes. For replay, dial 1-866-373-4990 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-866-373-4990 end_of_the_skype_highlighting and enter passcode 5711.
The NIH Clinical Center (CC) is the clinical research hospital for the National Institutes of Health. Through clinical research, physician-investigators translate laboratory discoveries into better treatments, therapies and interventions to improve the nation’s health. For more information, visit http://clinicalcenter.nih.gov .
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) ” The Nation’s Medical Research Agency” includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov .
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