Melish M E, Marchette N J, Kaplan J C, Kihara S, Ching D, Ho D D
Department of Pediatrics, University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu 96826.
Nature. 1989 Jan 19;337(6204):288-90. doi: 10.1038/337288a0.
Kawasaki syndrome, an acute febrile multisystem illness of young children, is a panvasculitis with prominent rheumatic features. Arthritis and pancarditis are frequent during the acute stage; coronary artery aneurysms occur in 20% of cases and the disease is now the leading cause of acquired heart disease in childhood. A microbial aetiology is suggested by the acute febrile self-limited character of the disease, the regular occurrence of epidemic outbreaks at intervals of 2-3 years, and the virtual restriction to young children, consistent with the early acquisition of immunity. Reports of elevated DNA polymerase activity (assumed to be RNA-dependent reverse transcriptase) in cultured lymphocytes from patients with acute Kawasaki syndrome suggest that a retrovirus might be the causative agent. We have measured supernatant DNA polymerase activity in lymphocyte cultures from 49 Hawaiian patients in acute and convalescent stages of Kawasaki syndrome and have been unable to demonstrate significant reverse transcriptase activity or other evidence of involvement of a retrovirus in the aetiology of the disease.
川崎病是一种发生于幼儿的急性发热性多系统疾病，是一种具有显著风湿特征的全身性血管炎。急性期常有关节炎和全心炎；20%的病例会出现冠状动脉瘤，该疾病现已成为儿童后天性心脏病的主要病因。该病急性发热且有自限性的特点、每隔2至3年定期出现流行暴发以及几乎仅发生于幼儿（这与早期获得性免疫一致），提示其有微生物病因。急性川崎病患者培养淋巴细胞中DNA聚合酶活性（假定为依赖RNA的逆转录酶）升高的报告表明，逆转录病毒可能是病原体。我们检测了49名处于川崎病急性期和恢复期的夏威夷患者淋巴细胞培养上清液中的DNA聚合酶活性，未能证明有显著的逆转录酶活性或其他逆转录病毒参与该疾病病因的证据。
