关于逆转录病毒可能导致ALS的研究

雪茄客

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Johns Hopkins scientists say that a retrovirus, which inserted itself into the human genome thousands of years ago, may be responsible for some cases of the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gherig's disease.
The finding may eventually give researchers a new way to attack this universally fatal condition.
While roughly 20 percent of ALS cases appear to have a genetic cause, the vast majority of cases appear to arise sporadically, with no known trigger. Research groups searching for a cause of this so-called sporadic form had previously spotted a protein known as reverse transcriptase, a product of retroviruses such as HIV, in ALS patients' serum samples, suggesting that a retrovirus might play a role in the disease. However, these groups weren't able to trace this reverse transcriptase to a specific retrovirus, leaving some scientists in doubt whether retroviruses are involved in ALS.
Seeking to verify whether a culprit retrovirus indeed exists, Avindra Nath, M.D., a professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and colleagues examined brain samples from 62 people: 28 who died from ALS, 12 who died from chronic, systemic diseases such as cancer, 10 who died from accidental causes and 12 who had another neurodegenerative disease, Parkinson's disease, at the time of their deaths. Using a technique known as polymerase chain reaction, the researchers searched for messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts from retroviruses, a chemical signature that retroviruses were active in these patients.
In samples from the ALS and chronic disease patients, the search turned up mRNA transcripts that came from human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K).
When Nath and his colleagues took a closer look at the mRNA, they saw that the transcripts seemed to originate from different parts of the genome in the samples from ALS and systemic disease patients.
The findings are reported in the January Annals of Neurology. (ANI)


http://www.sify.com/news/retrovirus-could-be-responsible-for-lou-gherig-s-disease-study-news-scitech-lddqkjccjhg.html

菡萏尘雾

约翰斯霍普金斯大学的科学家声称：一种数千年前嵌入人类基因组中的逆转录病毒，可能是神经退行性疾病、肌萎缩侧索硬化症（ALS）的诱因。

这一发现可能为研究人员提供新的思路，从而最终攻克这种致命性疾病。

粗略地估计，大约有20%的ALS病例似乎有遗传原因，但绝大多数病例是偶发或散发性的，毫无规律可循。研究小组先前寻找散发型病例的病因时，在ALS患者血清样本中发现了一种逆转录酶蛋白，这种蛋白是某种逆转录病毒（HIV病毒就是一种逆转录病毒）的产物，因此可以认为逆转录病毒可能对ALS疾病有一定影响。然而，研究小组无法根据这种逆转录酶追踪到特定的逆转录病毒,其余一些科学家则对逆转录病毒导致ALS病的可能性持怀疑态度。

为了核实这个可能的罪魁祸首（特定的某种逆转录病毒）是否确实存在，约翰霍普金斯大学医学院神经学教授Avindra Nath博士和他的同事，对62例人脑组织标本进行检查：其中28例死于ALS； 12例死于慢性、全身性疾病（如癌症）；10名死于意外原因；12例死亡时患有另外一种神经退行性疾病--帕金森病。
利用“聚合酶链反应”技术，研究人员企图找到逆转录病毒信使核糖核酸（mRNA）的转录产物，这是逆转录病毒在病人体内敏感活跃的化学特征。

在从ALS和其他慢性疾病患者中提取的样本中，研究发现信使核糖核酸（mRNA）的转录产物来自于人类内源性逆转录病毒K（HERV-K）。

Nath博士和他的同事们在仔细研究信使核糖核酸（mRNA）后发现，转录物似乎起源于ALS病人和系统性疾病病人基因组不同的部分。

研究结果发表在神经学年鉴一月刊上。

（感谢杨葫芦对翻译的巨大帮助）

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