Detection of human retrovirus 5 in patients with arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract

Objective. To examine whether human retrovirus 5 (HRV-5) infection is associated with autoimmune rheumatic disease.Methods. DNA from patients with various disorders including inflammatory diseases and from normal subjects was tested by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for HRV-5 proviral DNA. Positive results were confirmed by DNA sequencing.Results. HRV-5 proviral DNA was detected in 53% of synovial samples from arthritic joints, in 12% of blood samples from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and in 16% of blood samples from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. In contrast, it was not detectable by PCR of affected tissues from patients with several other autoimmune diseases and was found in only 1 of > > >200 tissue specimens obtained at autopsy from non-RA patients. Sequence analysis of the amplified viral segment showed genetic variation between samples with maintenance of the open reading frame, typical of a replicating infectious retrovirus.Conclusion. This is the first report of the frequent detection of HRV-5 in any disease. We propose that the possible involvement of HRV-5 in autoimmune and rheumatic disease should be investigated further.

Novel Endogenous Retrovirus in Rabbits Previously Reported as Human Retrovirus 5

“…This observation, together with other data such as a high degree of sequence variation between isolates from different individuals and conservation of open reading frames (ORFs) for gag, pro, and pol, led to the conclusion that HRV-5 was infectiously acquired and actively replicating (15). Since then, the preferential detection of HRV-5 in inflammatory diseases, particularly rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), has been reported (14). However, the virus has also been detected in other inflammatory conditions (6,14,31), in lymphoma (19,27,30), and occasionally in normal tissue and blood (6,14).…”

Human RNA “Rumor” Viruses: the Search for Novel Human Retroviruses in Chronic Disease

“…The link with RA was striking in that HRV-5 DNA was also detected in 50% of synovial biopsies from RA joints, although synovial tissue from some patients with osteoarthritis and reactive arthritis were also occasionally positive. In contrast, HRV-5 DNA was hardly ever detected in normal joints and blood from healthy donors (67,188,189,260,261,350,414). One group could not reproduce the positive detection in joint DNA, but the tissue samples were not directly comparable since there was little inflammatory tissue in these samples (166).…”

“…With regard to disease association, HRV-5 RNA was originally detected in salivary gland biopsies from patients with SS, but proviral DNA could only rarely be detected in such tissue (63,415). A wider survey of other inflammatory diseases detected HRV-5 DNA in blood samples from 12% of patients with RA and 16% of patients with SLE (188). The link with RA was striking in that HRV-5 DNA was also detected in 50% of synovial biopsies from RA joints, although synovial tissue from some patients with osteoarthritis and reactive arthritis were also occasionally positive.…”

Lack of detection of human retrovirus‐5 proviral DNA in synovial tissue and blood specimens from individuals with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis

“…We did not find an association between HRV-5 and RA or OA, as has been previously reported (3). Studies linking new infectious agents with human diseases must include appropriate controls, and specimens from controls must be collected and processed in the same way as specimens from diseased humans.…”

“…Supporting this association, Griffiths and colleagues detected HRV-5 proviral DNA in 12 (48%) of 25 synovial samples from patients with RA (3). Notably, however, they also detected HRV-5 proviral DNA in 3 of 5 synovial samples from patients with osteoarthritis (OA) (3).…”