Murray R S, Brown B, Brian D, Cabirac G F
Rocky Mountain Multiple Sclerosis Center, Englewood, CO 80110.
Ann Neurol. 1992 May;31(5):525-33. doi: 10.1002/ana.410310511.
Epidemiological studies of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and animal model data support the hypothesis that viruses initiate the immunopathogenic events leading to demyelination in MS. There have been no reports, however, of consistent detection of viruses in MS central nervous system tissue. We probed MS and control brain with cDNA probes specific for human, murine, porcine, and bovine coronaviruses. We report the in situ hybridization detection of coronavirus RNA in 12 of 22 MS brain samples using cloned coronavirus cDNA probes. In addition, tissue was screened for coronavirus antigen by immunohistochemical methods; antigen was detected in two patients with rapidly progressive MS. Significant amounts of coronavirus antigen and RNA were observed in active demyelinating plaques from these two patients. These findings show that coronaviruses can infect the human central nervous system and raise the possibility that these viruses may contribute to the pathogenesis of MS in some patients.
对多发性硬化症（MS）患者的流行病学研究及动物模型数据支持以下假说：病毒引发了导致MS脱髓鞘的免疫致病事件。然而，尚无在MS中枢神经系统组织中持续检测到病毒的报道。我们用针对人、鼠、猪和牛冠状病毒的cDNA探针探测MS患者和对照者的大脑。我们报告，使用克隆的冠状病毒cDNA探针，在22个MS脑样本中的12个中通过原位杂交检测到了冠状病毒RNA。此外，用免疫组化方法筛查组织中的冠状病毒抗原；在两名快速进展型MS患者中检测到了抗原。在这两名患者的活动性脱髓鞘斑块中观察到了大量的冠状病毒抗原和RNA。这些发现表明冠状病毒可感染人类中枢神经系统，并增加了这些病毒可能在某些患者的MS发病机制中起作用的可能性。
