Is XMRV a laboratory contaminant?
21 DECEMBER 2010
Since the first observations that the human retrovirus XMRV is associated with prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), new studies have been carried out to determine the role of the virus in these diseases. The results have been conflicting: XMRV (and related retroviruses) have been found in some patients, but not in others. Whether laboratory contamination could explain the origin of XMRV has been considered by four independent research groups.
In a study of Japanese patients with prostate cancer or CFS, the investigators found that control samples were positive when examined by PCR for XMRV sequences. They traced the problem to a component of a PCR kit that contained a mouse monoclonal antibody produced in mouse cells, it likely was contaminated with murine viral nucleic acids. This PCR kit was also used to identify polytropic murine retroviruses in the blood of CFS patients.
The results of two studies demonstrate that clinical samples that test positive for XMRV may also be contaminated with mouse nucleic acids. DNA from peripheral blood was tested for XMRV by PCR using primers specific for the viral gag gene. Samples determined to be PCR positive (19/36 healthy volunteers; 2/112 CFS patients) always contained intracisternal A particle (IAP) sequences. IAPs are endogenous retrovirus-like mobile elements, and because they are present at 1000 copies in the mouse genome, they can be readily detected by PCR. The authors conclude that positive results obtained with their XMRV gag PCR assay are due to contamination of human samples with mouse DNA.
What is the source of mouse DNA in the human samples included in these studies? Contamination might have occurred during blood collection, isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), or when DNA is prepared from PBMC. The authors note that fetal bovine serum and phosphate buffered saline, common laboratory reagents used for cell culture, appear to be involved. It is perhaps not surprising that fetal bovine serum could be contaminated with mouse DNA after all it is known to contain bacteriophages which are acquired during slaughter of cattle.
It should be noted that none of these three previous studies prove that XMRV detected by other groups is a result of contamination. They do underscore the need for very careful analysis of PCR findings, and the inclusion of assays to ensure the absence of contamination with mouse nucleic acids.
The results of the fourth study have direct implications for the etiology of CFS and prostate cancer. These authors found that gag PCR primers previously believed to be XMRV specific can amplify viral sequences from many strains of mice. Furthermore, these primers could be used to identify XMRV in 5 different human tumor cell lines presumably these cells had been previously contaminated with a murine retrovirus.
Analysis of a human prostate cancer cell line, 22Rv1, which produces a retrovirus similar to XMRV, provided additional evidence for laboratory contamination. Previously identified XMRV from clinical specimens are recombinants between Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMLV) and the virus from 22Rv1 cells. Furthermore, the 1182 nucleotides present in the genome of one XMRV isolate is 100% identical to Moloney virus. This sequence encodes the MoMLV envelope glycoprotein, which cannot attach to human cells, suggesting that this XMRV isolate arose as a consequence of PCR contamination.
The authors went on to compare all XMRV sequences with that of the virus from 22Rv1 cells. The results indicate that XMRV sequences from patients are interspersed with sequences derived from 22Rv1 cells. Furthermore, the virus from 22Rv1 cells is ancestral in evolutionary terms to patient-derived XMRV sequences. There is more nucleotide diversity in viral sequences from 22Rv1 cells than in all the patient XMRV sequences. The authors conclude:
Whilst our observations cannot conclusively prove that XMRV is not a human pathogen they appear consistent with the hypothesis that XMRV is not an exogenous virus transmitting among individuals. Instead, multiple lines of evidence suggest that the full length clones of XMRV originated from the 22Rv1 cell line.
How do these findings impact research on the association of XMRV with human disease? Multiple groups have identified XMRV sequences in patients with CFS and prostate cancer, and I believe that they should re-examine their specimens to determine if murine nucleic acids are present. Towers and colleagues believe this is futile; they write that assay contamination cannot be assessed by detection of murine DNA alone since MLVs contaminate a significant proportion of non-murine. Determining nucleotide sequences of complete viral genomes might be useful in determining the origin of XMRV sequences.
An important question that has not yet been answered is to what extent XMRV and related viruses are present in the general population. Answering this question will require the use of sensitive assays that are not compromised by laboratory contamination.
Stephane Hue, Eleanor R Gray, Astrid Gall, Aris Katzourakis, Choon Ping Tan, Charlotte J Houldcroft, Stuart McLaren, Deenan Pillay, Andrew Futreal, Jeremy A Garson, Oliver G Pybus, Paul Kellam, & Greg J Towers (2010). Disease-associated XMRV sequences are consistent with laboratory contamination Retrovirology
Eiji Sato, Rika A Furuta, & Takayuki Miyazawa (2010). An endogenous murine leukemia viral genome contaminant in a commercial RT-PCR Kit is amplified using standard primers for XMRV Retrovirology
Brendan Oakes, Albert K Tai, Oya Cingoz, Madeleine H Henefield, Susan Levine, John M Coffin, & Brigitte T Huber (2010). Contamination of human DNA samples with mouse DNA can lead to false detection of XMRV-like sequences Retrovirology
Mark J Robinson, Otto W Erlwein, Steve Kaye, Jonathan Weber, Oya Cingoz, Anup Patel, Marjorie M Walker, Wun-Jae Kim, Mongkol Uiprasertkul, John M Coffin, & Myra O McClure (2010). Mouse DNA contamination in human tissue tested for XMRV Retrovirology