scholarly journals Current Status of Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus–Related Retrovirus in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Prostate Cancer: Reach for a Scorecard, Not a Prescription Pad

2010 ◽  
Vol 202 (10) ◽  
pp. 1463-1466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Kearney ◽  
Frank Maldarelli
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Murine Leukemia Virus ◽  
Leukemia Virus ◽  
Chronic Fatigue ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Xenotropic Murine Leukemia ◽  
Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Murine Leukemia

scholarly journals A Multicenter Blinded Analysis Indicates No Association between Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and either Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus-Related Virus or Polytropic Murine Leukemia Virus

mBio ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harvey J. Alter ◽  
Judy A. Mikovits ◽  
William M. Switzer ◽  
Francis W. Ruscetti ◽  
Shyh-Ching Lo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Murine Leukemia Virus ◽  
Leukemia Virus ◽  
Chronic Fatigue ◽  
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis ◽  
Xenotropic Murine Leukemia ◽  
Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Related Virus ◽  
Murine Leukemia ◽  
Polytropic Murine Leukemia Virus

ABSTRACT The disabling disorder known as chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) has been linked in two independent studies to infection with xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) and polytropic murine leukemia virus (pMLV). Although the associations were not confirmed in subsequent studies by other investigators, patients continue to question the consensus of the scientific community in rejecting the validity of the association. Here we report blinded analysis of peripheral blood from a rigorously characterized, geographically diverse population of 147 patients with CFS/ME and 146 healthy subjects by the investigators describing the original association. This analysis reveals no evidence of either XMRV or pMLV infection. IMPORTANCE Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis has an estimated prevalence of 42/10,000 in the United States, with annual direct medical costs of $7 billion. Here, the original investigators who found XMRV and pMLV (polytropic murine leukemia virus) in blood of subjects with this disorder report that this association is not confirmed in a blinded analysis of samples from rigorously characterized subjects. The increasing frequency with which molecular methods are used for pathogen discovery poses new challenges to public health and support of science. It is imperative that strategies be developed to rapidly and coherently address discoveries so that they can be carried forward for translation to clinical medicine or abandoned to focus resource investment more productively. Our study provides a paradigm for pathogen dediscovery that may be helpful to others working in this field.

scholarly journals Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus–Related Virus Prevalence in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Chronic Immunomodulatory Conditions

2010 ◽  
Vol 202 (10) ◽  
pp. 1478-1481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Henrich ◽  
Jonathan Z. Li ◽  
Donna Felsenstein ◽  
Camille N. Kotton ◽  
Robert M. Plenge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Murine Leukemia Virus ◽  
Leukemia Virus ◽  
Chronic Fatigue ◽  
Virus Prevalence ◽  
Xenotropic Murine Leukemia ◽  
Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Related Virus ◽  
Murine Leukemia

scholarly journals Phylogeny-Directed Search for Murine Leukemia Virus-Like Retroviruses in Vertebrate Genomes and in Patients Suffering from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Prostate Cancer

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Blomberg ◽  
Ali Sheikholvaezin ◽  
Amal Elfaitouri ◽  
Fredrik Blomberg ◽  
Anna Sjösten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Murine Leukemia Virus ◽  
Leukemia Virus ◽  
Optimal Strategies ◽  
Chronic Fatigue ◽  
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis ◽  
Directed Search ◽  
Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Murine Leukemia

Gammaretrovirus-like sequences occur in most vertebrate genomes. Murine Leukemia Virus (MLV) like retroviruses (MLLVs) are a subset, which may be pathogenic and spread cross-species. Retroviruses highly similar to MLLVs (xenotropic murine retrovirus related virus (XMRV) and Human Mouse retrovirus-like RetroViruses (HMRVs)) reported from patients suffering from prostate cancer (PC) and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) raise the possibility that also humans have been infected. Structurally intact, potentially infectious MLLVs occur in the genomes of some mammals, especially mouse. Mouse MLLVs contain three major groups. One, MERV G3, contained MLVs and XMRV/HMRV. Its presence in mouse DNA, and the abundance of xenotropic MLVs in biologicals, is a source of false positivity. Theoretically, XMRV/HMRV could be one of several MLLV transspecies infections. MLLV pathobiology and diversity indicate optimal strategies for investigating XMRV/HMRV in humans and raise ethical concerns. The alternatives that XMRV/HMRV may give a hard-to-detect “stealth” infection, or that XMRV/HMRV never reached humans, have to be considered.

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