Failure to detect human T-cell leukemia virus-related sequences in multiple sclerosis blood
I. S. Chen, A. M. Haislip, L. W. Myers, G. W. Ellison and J. E. Merrill
Department of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine.
We tested 11 patients with multiple sclerosis for the presence of human
T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I)- or type II (HTLV-II)-related
sequences. DNA from blood mononuclear cells was analyzed by the polymerase
chain reaction utilizing three different oligonucleotide primer pairs. Two
of these primer pairs detect sequences shared between HTLV-I and HTLV-II in
either p24, gag protein, or in p21, env transmembrane protein. The third
primer pair was synthesized based on regions in the pol gene where amino
acid sequences are conserved between HTLV-I, HTLV-II, and the related
bovine leukemia virus. The multiple sclerosis samples were consistently
negative while appropriate control samples were positive. We conclude that
viruses related to HTLV-I, HTLV-II, or bovine leukemia virus are not
present in the blood of patients with multiple sclerosis and, therefore,
that HTLV-bovine leukemia virus-related viruses are not likely to be
involved in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis.