I've just found the following posted on the SFC La Liga forum in September - it's news to me:
http://www.ligasfc.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=364
PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF TESTS CAN XMRV RUTI
Sent by edu - 1728 reads
Earlier this month in Washington DC, held the first international meeting of researchers on XMRV retrovirus, which is involved in the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and other diseases. Before the meeting had been published studies showing the relationship between XMRV and CFS (published in Science and PNAS Lombardi group and the recent study by the NIH and FDA). At the Washington meeting presented studies that had also found this relationship, studies by Dr Paul Cheney, Dr. Kenny De Meirleir, Dr Bell and the Catalan team of "Can Ruti (IrsiCaixa Foundation, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol Badalona). The three papers presented by the team of Can Ruti found on pages 25, 26 and 35 of the report in English of the meeting:
http://regist2.virology-education.com/abstractbook/2010_8.pdf
Although the immunology and virology are complex issues, we make a summary of these trials. (Thanks to all healthcare professionals working with us on this issue to our website).
YES, HE HAS FOUND "THE BUG"
The main thing, so far, tests of Can Ruti is that XMRV has been detected in patients with CFS in some patients with HIV and in some healthy controls. This detection was carried out as a pilot study with a small number of people because the objective at this point is not so much a study of prevalence but find out what the first two steps to detect this retrovirus. And thanks to these three trials, one can say it has succeeded in establishing the first steps to detect this retrovirus that presents a great difficulty in their detection.
Combining the 3 methods used in these tests for the detection of retrovirus could add up in CFS patients, possibly between 36% and 72%, which is in line with the studies published in the U.S. although the team Can Ruti percentages do not enter it probably not statistically significant in a small sample. So it plans to expand the study with a larger sample in the near future as communicated in the press.
In any case the most relevant of these 3 trials could be summarized as follows:
- The XMRV retrovirus is present in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Spanish.
- The XMRV retrovirus is also present in the healthy population in Spain and in patients with HIV.
- The mechanism of pathogenicity of XMRV must be elucidated in vitro studies, but data collected in the study suggest that B cells may represent a reservoir for retrovirus XMRV and contribute to its pathogenicity. The data also show that the histological study of human lymphoid tissue is a suitable model for analyzing the pathogenesis of XMRV.
- Studies of B cells, T and NK cells suggests a global immune dysfunction of unknown cause as a potential contributor to the mechanism of development of CFS. NK cells showed a significant decrease in the expression of CD57 +, and observed high levels of CD69 and activation of cytotoxic receptor NKp44 and NKp30 Nkp46.
- After 14 days of culture, the cells of the tissues were very positive, confirming that XMRV fragment was able to infect the tissue of the tonsils in the absence of external stimuli.
TEST FOR TEST
(Translation and summary of Jose Luis R)
TEST 1 (page 25 of report) "Detection of XMRV sequences in EBV-Transformed B cell lines." Authors: J White, J Carrillo, E Garca, J Areal, Clotet B, C Cabrera.
About 21 cell lines for 11 CFS patients, 5 healthy controls, 4 patients with HIV and 1 in prostate cancer tissue was obtained by PCR amplified genes ENV, GAG and POL (being the 3 genes that make up the XMRV) the following results:
ENV: 4 positive on 21 of which 3 with SFC, 1 healthy
GAG: 3 positive on 21 of them, 1 SFC, 1 healthy, 1 HIV
POL: 7 positive, 14 of which 4 SFC, 2 healthy, HIV-1
With a sample so small it is difficult to know the percentage of affected but could be located, possibly in 72% of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.
On the other hand it confirms the effectiveness of XMRV to infect in vitro and in vivo lymphocyte cells such as B lymphocytes
As a new, state that Epstein Barr virus act as a "gateway" of XMRV in B cells that act as "reservoir" (the place where most viruses accumulate) of the disease
Our preliminary considerations:
1 .- It is very important that a reference laboratory as IrsiCaixa retrovirology retrovirus has been detected in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome in a rate, if confirmed, would dovetail perfectly with those published so far by the WPI (67%) and PNA's (just over 80%).
2 .- It is the first time in Europe XMRV detects the presence of not only patients but in healthy people and people with immune problems (such as people with HIV).
3 .- The B lymphocytes to act as one of the possible reservoirs of the disease would find difficult to find copies of the blood and support XMRV trials with Rituximab and the like that cause a transient improvement of the disease by causing the destruction of certain B lymphocytes (CD19).
4.-While it would be desirable to have percentages of the results but being a pilot are not as important as the rates that you were able to find the XMRV and begin to determine its operation. We imagine now that it has detected is extended, as if that seems to claim, IrsiCaixa trials.
TEST 2 (page 26 of report): "Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related Infection in human ex vivo lymphoid tissue." Authors: C. Cabrera, M Curriu, J Carrillo, M Massanella, E Garca, Clotet B, C Carrato, J White.
In this paper we attempt to show whether the XMRV infect lymphoid tissue based on the evidence of infection and replication in rhesus macaques XMRV.
For this is done growing XMRV tonsil tissue causing infection at 7 days and superinfection at 14 days.
Despite the infection, counts are conducted on different B and T lymphocytes and their number almost corresponds to that of uninfected tissue.
In conclusion the study shows that the virus can infect lymphoid cells in vivo but does not result in a reaction inmumolgica or kill them.
Our preliminary considerations:
1.-The first thing is again proved (as was done in animal models) that the virus has a great ability to infect different tissues, in this case from a lymphoid tissue cell culture from tonsils.
2.-The study highlights that there is no difference in the amount of B and T lymphocytes from infected cells and healthy cells XMRV.
3.-There seems to be enough evidence to believe that the XMRV infects lymphocytes, but unlike HIV, not kill them. This would cause it to be very difficult to detect in plasma-replicating copies the virus stays in their reservoirs of B-lymphocytes and distort the quantitative analytical ie the number of B and T lymphocytes would be the same as in healthy people, with the difference that functionality would be diminished, and last difficult because treatment is replicated and expose little bit in the plasma, at least theoretically.
TEST 3 (page 35 of report) "Altered B, T and NK cell phenotype in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) individuals". Authors: M Curiu, Massanella M, Carrillo J, Puig J, Rigau J, Clotet B, C Cabrera, C White.
This essay seeks to establish a differential immunopathologic pattern among people with CFS and healthy people.
Participants: 12 volunteers CFS and 15 healthy volunteers.
The objective is to characterize the phenotype (external form) of B cells, T and NK cells and characterize their cytotoxic activity (attack) and their level of spontaneous apoptosis (natural self-destruction).
Conclusion:
It is a distinct change in the activity (in a cell subtypes increased and decreased in others, as well as its natural self-destruction capacity) but not in the number of cells in people with CFS vs healthy people.
B cells have a phenotype (a form) that is due to cells exposed to viral infections or autoimmune disorders.
Furthermore T cells have a phenotype of anergic type (which are incapable of generating a specific immune response) that may be related to the inability to control a viral infection that would result in the lack of activity and senescence (premature aging) showing the CFS patients.
The NK activity does not appear to be seriously impaired.
The results show GLOBAL immune dysfunction of unknown etiology (cause unknown) that could be the cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Our preliminary considerations:
1.-Without going into too much detail, there are no serious anomalies at cell numbers but in terms of how they work. Ie B lymphocytes, T and NK's are suitable number but perform poorly.
2.-It is clear that if B and T lymphocytes are "parasites" by the XMRV will hardly be able to control viral infections opportunistically that appear in people with CFS (EBV, CMV, HHV-6 etc) and will not be able to fight the growth of cancer cells.
3.-For the umpteenth time shows that the patient's immune pattern SFC is strongly weakened (immunosuppressed) making it the focus of external attacks and would suffer the symptoms of the disease.
THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING: Thanks everybody!
Can Ruti These tests are only first steps on the XMRV work in CFS. Although everyone involved (patients and family members) are eager to do more studies, we know that these first steps are the most crucial if future studies then will be effective. So we want to thank everyone that when contacted from SFC League in late 2009 asking for donations and support for these trials, they responded positively with generosity and solidarity. Even those who worked to organize and participate in the concert in support of research XMRV Can Ruti-SFC in May this year in Barcelona. Your support was the seed of something very important.
Thanks!
And thanks to the team Can Ruti, Drs Cabrera, White, Clotet and others for their commitment to scientific research on CFS.
- they just kind of covered it up.....
