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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2002, p. 4131-4137, Vol. 40, No. 11
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.11.4131-4137.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Detection of Antibodies Directed against Human Herpesvirus 6 U94/REP in Sera of Patients Affected by Multiple Sclerosis

Section of Microbiology, Department of Experimental and Diagnostic Medicine,¹ Section of Neurology, Department of Medical Surgical, Communication and Behavioral Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara,³ Department of Hygienistic, Microbiological and Biostatistical Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy²

Received 11 April 2002/ Returned for modification 30 June 2002/ Accepted 4 August 2002

The association between human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) and multiple sclerosis (MS) is controversial. In fact, it is difficult to establish a causative role of HHV-6, due to the high prevalence of latently infected individuals in the healthy population. Therefore, the presence of virus sequences in tissue biopsy does not support a viral role, and serological assays do not show significant differences between MS patients and control populations. The only viral gene expressed during latency is U94/rep. Therefore, we have developed a serological assay for the detection of antibodies specifically directed against U94/REP protein. Different populations were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, including healthy controls, MS patients, and subjects with diseases unrelated to HHV-6 infection, including other neurological diseases. The results show statistically significant differences (P > 0.01) between MS patients and control groups, both in antibody prevalence (87 and 43.9%, respectively) and in geometric mean titer (1:515 and 1:190, respectively). The detection of antibodies specific for HHV-6 U94/REP shows that the immune system is exposed to this antigen during natural infection. The higher prevalence and higher titers of antibodies to U94/REP suggest that MS patients and control groups might experience different exposures to HHV-6.

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