title: [Viral origin of Paget's disease of bone. Contribution of electron microscopy and immunocytology of the aetiological diagnosis (author's transl)].
abstract: Despite considerable research work the cause of Paget's disease of bone remains uncertain. In a study of bone tissue from 100 patients with Paget's disease electron microscopy demonstrated alterations of the cells involved in bone remodelling. Osteoblasts showed distinct signs of hyperactivity, and the fibrillar arrangement of the osteoid tissue they produce was irregular. Osteoclasts were very large with numerous nuclei, and their bone-resorption activity was abnormal. Microcylindric inclusions visible in the cytoplasma and nuclei were morphologically comparable to the nucleocapsids of measles virus observed in experimental infections or in human pathology. Immunocytology tests confirmed the presence in osteoclasts of an antigenic material belonging to the measles virus group and cross-reacting with it. The hypothesis of a viral origin for Paget's disease of bone is supported by the chronic course of the condition, the histopathology of bone tissue, the ultrastructural changes in osteoclasts and the immunological results. A virus of the measles virus group probably plays a major role in the etiology of the disease.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D010001:Osteitis Deformans / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D011817:Rabbits; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000473:pathology*
vernacular_title: L'étiologie virale de la maladie osseuse de Paget. Apport de la microscopie électronique et de l'immunocytologie.