title: Absence of foamy virus DNA in Graves' disease.
abstract: A report on the high prevalence of foamy virus DNA in lymphocytes from French patients with Graves' disease prompted us to investigate a similar cohort of 41 German patients. Using PCR amplification and Southern blot hybridization, we detected foamy virus DNA only in lymphocytes of two accidentally infected humans and five naturally infected monkeys, as well as in DNA samples from four Graves' disease patients investigated in the French study. However, we failed to detect foamy virus DNA in peripheral blood lymphocytes from any of the 41 Graves' disease patients of the German cohort. Thus, a causative role of foamy viruses in this thyroid disease is highly improbable.
authors.affiliation: Abteilung Virologie, Universität Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schweizer
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Turek
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reinhardt
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neumann-Haefelin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001483:Base Sequence; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D016259:Genes, myc; D015751:Genes, pol; D005858:Germany; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016092:Spumavirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004279:DNA, Viral