title: Retroviruses and multiple sclerosis. I. Analysis of seroreactivity by western blot and radioimmune assay.
abstract: We were unable to identify an antibody to either HTLV-I or HIV-1 in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) by ELISA, by radioimmune assay, or by radioimmune precipitation techniques. Immunoblot studies for HTLV-I-specific antibodies revealed faintly reactive bands in 2 of 44 MS patients but not in patients with other neurologic diseases. We did not find seroreactivity to HIV-1 or to the distantly related retrovirus, caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV). These findings suggest that MS is not related to infection by human retroviruses with antigenic similarity to HTLV-I, HIV-1, or CAEV.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital, London, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Weinshenker
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dekaban
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Rice
mesh_terms: D015153:Blotting, Western; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D006679:HIV Seropositivity; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012016:Reference Values; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies