Papers

Sequences specific for enterovirus detected in spinal cord from patients with motor neurone disease

Department of Veterinary Pathology, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh EH9 1QH Scottish Serum Bank, Centre for Infection and Environmental Health, Ruchill Hospital, Glasgow G20 9NB Regional Virus Laboratory, Ruchill Hospital, Glasgow G20 9NB Department of Neuropathology, Institute Neurological Sciences, Southern General Hospital, Glasgow G51 4TF Correspondence to: Dr Clements.

Abstract

Objective : To investigate the association of enteroviruses with motor neurone disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Design : Analysis by enterovirus polymerase chain reaction of wax embedded material from spinal cords taken at necropsy from subjects with motor neurone disease and from age and sex matched controls. Setting - Specimens were collected in the west of Scotland and in London between 1982 and 1992.
Results : Sequences specific for a non-poliovirus type enterovirus were detected in spinal cord tissue from subjects with motor neurone disease. Amplification of a 414 base RNA target sequence in the conserved enterovirus 5' untranslated region from wax embedded tissue sections was successful in tissue from eight of 11 cases of sporadic motor neurone disease, one of two cases of familial motor neurone disease, and the one case of poliomyelitis, but not in the six matched controls or one case of antecedent poliomyelitis. In addition, sequences were detected in spinal cords from one monkey infected with wild type poliovirus and one monkey infected with polio vaccine. Comparison of sequences from cases of motor neurone disease with sequences of corresponding regions of the 5' untranslated regions of known picornaviruses showed them to be tightly grouped within the enterovirus genus closely related to coxsackievirus type B but not to polioviruses. Sequences derived from different parts of the spinal cord of the same subjects were identical, but sequences differed between individual subjects.
Conclusions : Conserved enteroviral sequences closely related to coxsackie B virus sequences were detectable in spinal cords from subjects with sporadic motor neurone disease and from one subject with possible familial motor neurone disease.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

Enterovirus hypothesis for motor neurone disease

N R Swanson, S A Fox, and F L Mastaglia
BMJ 1994 309: 743. [Extract] [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Nix, W. A., Berger, M. M., Oberste, M. S., Brooks, B. R., McKenna-Yasek, D. M., Brown, R. H. Jr., Roos, R. P., Pallansch, M. A. (2004). Failure to detect enterovirus in the spinal cord of ALS patients using a sensitive RT-PCR method. Neurology 62: 1372-1377 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• Feuer, R., Mena, I., Pagarigan, R. R., Harkins, S., Hassett, D. E., Whitton, J. L. (2003). Coxsackievirus B3 and the Neonatal CNS: The Roles of Stem Cells, Developing Neurons, and Apoptosis in Infection, Viral Dissemination, and Disease. Am. J. Pathol. 163: 1379-1393 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• Giraud, P., Beaulieux, F., Ono, S., Shimizu, N., Chazot, G., Lina, B. (2001). Detection of enteroviral sequences from frozen spinal cord samples of Japanese ALS patients. Neurology 56: 1777-1778 [Full text]  
• Ansevin, C. F. (2001). Treatment of ALS with pleconaril. Neurology 56: 691-695 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• Pamphlett, R., Lina, B., Karpati, G. (2000). Detection and cellular localization of enterovirus RNA sequences in spinal cord of patients with ALS. Neurology 55: 1420-1421 [Full text]  
• Berger, M. M., Kopp, N., Vital, C., Redl, B., Aymard, M., Lina, B. (2000). Detection and cellular localization of enterovirus RNA sequences in spinal cord of patients with ALS. Neurology 54: 20-20 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• Tam, P. E., Messner, R. P. (1999). Molecular Mechanisms of Coxsackievirus Persistence in Chronic Inflammatory Myopathy: Viral RNA Persists through Formation of a Double-Stranded Complex without Associated Genomic Mutations or Evolution. J. Virol. 73: 10113-10121 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• Muir, P., Kammerer, U., Korn, K., Mulders, M. N., Poyry, T., Weissbrich, B., Kandolf, R., Cleator, G. M., van Loon, A. M. (1998). Molecular Typing of Enteroviruses: Current Status and Future Requirements. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 11: 202-227 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• Rice, S., Pamphlett, R. (1997). Study linking enteroviral infection with motor neurone disease is not confirmed. BMJ 315: 1380-1380 [Full text]  
• Nowotny, N, Durr, G (1995). Enteroviral hypothesis for motor neurone disease. BMJ 310: 256a-256 [Full text]  
• Swanson, N R, Fox, S A, Mastaglia, F L (1994). Enterovirus hypothesis for motor neurone disease. BMJ 309: 743-743 [Full text]