Caselli Elisabetta, Boni Michela, Bracci Arianna, Rotola Antonella, Cermelli Claudio, Castellazzi Massimiliano, Di Luca Dario, Cassai Enzo
Section of Microbiology, Department of Experimental and Diagnostic Medicine. Section of Neurology, Department of Medical Surgical, Communication and Behavioral Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
J Clin Microbiol. 2002 Nov;40(11):4131-7. doi: 10.1128/JCM.40.11.4131-4137.2002.
The association between human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) and multiple sclerosis (MS) is controversial. In fact, it is difficult to establish a causative role of HHV-6, due to the high prevalence of latently infected individuals in the healthy population. Therefore, the presence of virus sequences in tissue biopsy does not support a viral role, and serological assays do not show significant differences between MS patients and control populations. The only viral gene expressed during latency is U94/rep. Therefore, we have developed a serological assay for the detection of antibodies specifically directed against U94/REP protein. Different populations were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, including healthy controls, MS patients, and subjects with diseases unrelated to HHV-6 infection, including other neurological diseases. The results show statistically significant differences (P > 0.01) between MS patients and control groups, both in antibody prevalence (87 and 43.9%, respectively) and in geometric mean titer (1:515 and 1:190, respectively). The detection of antibodies specific for HHV-6 U94/REP shows that the immune system is exposed to this antigen during natural infection. The higher prevalence and higher titers of antibodies to U94/REP suggest that MS patients and control groups might experience different exposures to HHV-6.
人类疱疹病毒6型（HHV - 6）与多发性硬化症（MS）之间的关联存在争议。事实上，由于健康人群中潜伏感染个体的高流行率，很难确定HHV - 6的致病作用。因此，组织活检中病毒序列的存在并不支持病毒的作用，血清学检测也未显示MS患者与对照人群之间存在显著差异。潜伏期唯一表达的病毒基因是U94/rep。因此，我们开发了一种血清学检测方法，用于检测特异性针对U94/REP蛋白的抗体。通过酶联免疫吸附测定法对不同人群进行了分析，包括健康对照、MS患者以及患有与HHV - 6感染无关疾病（包括其他神经系统疾病）的受试者。结果显示，MS患者与对照组之间在抗体流行率（分别为87%和43.9%）和几何平均滴度（分别为1:515和1:190）方面均存在统计学显著差异（P > 0.01）。对HHV - 6 U94/REP特异性抗体的检测表明，免疫系统在自然感染期间会接触到这种抗原。针对U94/REP的抗体较高的流行率和滴度表明，MS患者和对照组可能经历了不同的HHV - 6暴露。
