Lack of evidence for human infection with Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus in the Brazilian Amazon basin

• Main Authors: Samara Tatielle Monteiro Gomes, Luciana Imbiriba, Rommel Rodriguéz Burbano, Artur Luiz da Costa Silva, Rosimar Neris Martins Feitosa, Izaura Maria Vieira Cayres-Vallinoto, Marluísa de Oliveira Guimarães Ishak, Ricardo Ishak, Antonio Carlos Rosário Vallinoto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2014-06-01
• Series: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Subjects: Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus; Retrovirus; Amazon region; Brazil
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822014000300302&lng=en&tlng=en

Introduction This study confirmed the absence of natural infection with Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) or XMRV-related disease in human populations of the Brazilian Amazon basin. We demonstrated that 803 individuals of both sexes, who were residents of Belem in the Brazilian State of Pará, were not infected with XMRV. Methods Individuals were divided into 4 subgroups: healthy individuals, individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 (HIV-1), individuals infected with human T-lymphotrophic virus, types 1 or 2 (HTLV-1/2), and individuals with prostate cancer. XMRV infection was investigated by nested PCR to detect the viral gag gene and by quantitative PCR to detect pol. Results There was no amplification of either gag or pol segments from XRMV in any of the samples examined. Conclusions This study supports the conclusions of the studies that eventually led to the retraction of the original study reporting the association between XMRV and human diseases.