THE RELATIONSHIP OF XMRV TO FUNCTIONAL STATUS AND CO-INFECTIONS IN CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME

Cornell University (Ithaca), Principal Investigator: HANSON, MAUREEN REBECCA, (Page Last Updated on November 1, 2010)

Project Information:

The immune systems of CFS patients exhibit both chronic activation and dysfunction.

We plan to learn more about the association of XMRV and other pathogens with CFS by examining an outbreak cohort not previously screened for the presence of XMRV. Other viruses, microbes, and parasites that may be associated with XMRV will also be detected with the use of a panmicrobial DNA microarray.

We will determine whether the presence of XMRV and/or other pathogens is related to the current state of health of individuals who became ill during a 1985 outbreak in rural New York. Assuming that most members of the New York cohort are infected with XMRV, we will amplify and sequence XMRV envelope genes derived from blood cells of 40 individuals who became ill as children in 1985.

We will also sequence envelope genes from 80 subjects in the Nevada cohort known to exhibit a high degree of XMRV infection. We will examine phylogenetic relationships between the Nevada and New York XMRV variants and will observe whether any amino acid substitutions correlate with the current state of health of the subjects. We will also study the possible association of XMRV and XMRV protein expression in the phenomenon of exercise intolerance. We will examine XMRV-infected CFS patients before and after an exacerbation of symptoms caused by serial exercise testing.