Hauser S L, Aubert C, Burks J S, Kerr C, Lyon-Caen O, de The G, Brahic M
Nature. 1986;322(6075):176-7. doi: 10.1038/322176a0.
Several observations suggest that retroviral infection is involved in the pathogenesis of the human demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis (MS). First, lymphadenopathy-associated virus/human T-lymphotropic virus type III (LAV/HTLV-III), the agent of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), has been shown to be neurotropic in man. Second, the genetic organization of the lentivirus visna, which causes a chronic demyelinating disease of sheep, closely resembles that of LAV/HTLV-III. Recently, Koprowski and colleagues reported that MS is associated both with raised levels of circulating antibodies to HTLV-I and with the presence of HTLV-I-specific RNA within cell lines derived from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Here we report that no HTLV-I-like or LAV/HTLV-III-like sequences can be detected, by in situ hybridization, in central nervous system (CNS) tissues from MS patients, and that nonspecific HTLV-I-like signal in peripheral blood mononuclear cells or in CSF cell lines is characteristic of MS. Furthermore, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis of circulating and CSF antibodies for HTLV-I reactivity fails to distinguish between MS and control groups.
多项观察结果表明，逆转录病毒感染与人类脱髓鞘疾病多发性硬化症（MS）的发病机制有关。首先，获得性免疫缺陷综合征（AIDS）的病原体淋巴结病相关病毒/人类T淋巴细胞白血病病毒III型（LAV/HTLV-III）已被证明对人类具有嗜神经性。其次，导致绵羊慢性脱髓鞘疾病的慢病毒维斯纳病毒的基因结构与LAV/HTLV-III极为相似。最近，科波夫斯基及其同事报告称，MS既与循环中抗HTLV-I抗体水平升高有关，也与源自脑脊液（CSF）的细胞系中存在HTLV-I特异性RNA有关。在此我们报告，通过原位杂交在MS患者的中枢神经系统（CNS）组织中未检测到类似HTLV-I或类似LAV/HTLV-III的序列，并且外周血单核细胞或CSF细胞系中的非特异性类似HTLV-I信号是MS的特征。此外，对循环和CSF中抗HTLV-I反应性抗体的酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）分析无法区分MS组和对照组。
