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. 2009 Oct 23;326(5952):585-9.
doi: 10.1126/science.1179052. Epub 2009 Oct 8.

Detection of an infectious retrovirus, XMRV, in blood cells of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome

Vincent C Lombardi  1 , Francis W Ruscetti, Jaydip Das Gupta, Max A Pfost, Kathryn S Hagen, Daniel L Peterson, Sandra K Ruscetti, Rachel K Bagni, Cari Petrow-Sadowski, Bert Gold, Michael Dean, Robert H Silverman, Judy A Mikovits
Affiliations

Detection of an infectious retrovirus, XMRV, in blood cells of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome

Vincent C Lombardi et al. Science. .

Erratum in

Retraction in

  • Retraction.
    Alberts B. Alberts B. Science. 2011 Dec 23;334(6063):1636. doi: 10.1126/science.334.6063.1636-a. Science. 2011. PMID: 22194552

Expression of concern in

  • Editorial expression of concern.
    Alberts B. Alberts B. Science. 2011 Jul 1;333(6038):35. doi: 10.1126/science.1208542. Science. 2011. PMID: 21719658 No abstract available.

Abstract

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating disease of unknown etiology that is estimated to affect 17 million people worldwide. Studying peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from CFS patients, we identified DNA from a human gammaretrovirus, xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV), in 68 of 101 patients (67%) as compared to 8 of 218 (3.7%) healthy controls. Cell culture experiments revealed that patient-derived XMRV is infectious and that both cell-associated and cell-free transmission of the virus are possible. Secondary viral infections were established in uninfected primary lymphocytes and indicator cell lines after their exposure to activated PBMCs, B cells, T cells, or plasma derived from CFS patients. These findings raise the possibility that XMRV may be a contributing factor in the pathogenesis of CFS.

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