Disease Associations of XMRV and MLV-Related Viruses - Judy Mikovits

[ixchelkali]

I know this was mentioned in the thread on the Pathogens in the Blood Supply presentation on the media forum, but I thought it might be interesting to look at Judy Mikovits' abstract from a research perspective.

<H5>Disease Associations of XMRV and MLV-Related Viruses

Judy A. Mikovits, PhD, Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease
A new human retrovirus first associated with QQ variant RNaseL a gene in the hereditary prostate cancer gene locus, in prostate cancer in 2006. Detection of integration sites in unmanipulated prostate tissue; demonstration of neutralizing antibody and in situ hybridization for XMRV, supports XMRV as a human retroviral infection associated with prostate cancer. Although in the absence of direct sequencing it cannot be rule out the reactivity can be to related MLV viruses. In 2009 using a classical virology approach of viral isolation and transmission, electron micropscopy, serology and PCR, Lombardi et al demonstrated the first isolation of XMRV from blood from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) predominately from the west coast of the United States. In 2010, Lo et al. extended these studies by detecting nucleic acids of MLV-related variants in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of CFS from the northeastern United States suggesting additional strains capable of infecting humans exist. In a study of 300 CFS patients, 13developed lymphoproliferative disorders. Of those tested, 11/11 were positive for XMRV and 9/9 positive for clonalTCR gamma rearrangements. Spontaneous development of four immortalized B cells lines occurred during culture of cells from CFS patients. Three developed from B cells isolated from the peripheral blood (two of whom had B cell lymphoma) and one from a bone marrow biopsy. The B cell lineshave a mature CD20+, CD23+ phenotype and produce infectious XMRV. Virus production occurred despite extensive hypermutation of the proviruses in these cells by APOBEC3G. Therefore, XMRV infection may accelerate the development of B cell malignancies by either indirect chronic stimulation of the immune system and/or by direct infection of the B-cell lineage. Since viral load in peripheral blood is low, these data suggest that B cells in tissues such as spleen and lymph nodes could be an in vivo reservoir for XMRV. We have also identified an inflammatory cytokine and chemokine signature that distinguishes XMRV infected CFS patients from healthy controls with 94% sensitivity and specificity Monitoring immune dysfunction affords the opportunity to begin to understand the pathogenesis of XMRVs. In addition to these data, recent advances in developing tests for detection and characterization of XMRVvariants will be also be discussed.

 

[redo]

Thanks for posting

 

[August59]

"clonalTCR gamma" - I'm going to buy one of these when I get well and rich!

Thought I had read or heard of all the medical terms, but this is a new one. Dr. Judy appears to be going after it really hard and I'm certainly grateful. All the XMRV issues aside, there have been a few studies this year that are getting much deeper into the cellular level. Technology advancements and researchers wanting to explore it's capability have been a good thing for ME/CFS. Dr. Mikovits with this research, Dr. Schutzer (Dr. Baraniuk soon I hope) spinal fluid studies and the Australian Symposium I believe will eventually yield ME/CFS very pertinent and vital information.

I certainly want the XMRV issues settled, but I hope that science will look beyond it and find out what is biologically happening to us (XMRV or not). I don't think, even if it is XMRV, that taking antivirals is going to cure us. There will be have to be some biological repair in some of us at least in my case anyway. Excuse my terminology which I'm sure is lacking here, but I think you most of you know where I went with this.

Wayne's thread on mitochondrial disease plays into this as well. Thanks!

 

[omerbasket]

Every time I read things by Dr. Mikovits, and especially every time I see a lecture by her, I learn so many new things. I think she is a genius scientist, and I think that had the other scientists been listening to her, instead of trying to oppose her, they would have learn a lot of things, including things that would help them regardless of XMRV. It's true, they are experienced scientists too. But Dr. Mikovits had learned a whole lot about XMRV, and it's a shame that they don't want to learn from her (like, for example, performing her exact tests, and at least most of those tests [not just one, as even though she is a genius, it's still a new and hard-to-detect virus which she either don't know eveything about, so she either cannot currently have a test that would find it whenever it's there], instead of insisting of not replicating her study).

 

[*GG*]

People and their egos, damn human nature!