Antibody to reverse transcriptase of human retroviruses in multiple sclerosis

HTLV-1, HIV-1 and HIV-2 western blot analysis of sera from patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), from patients with other neurological diseases and from blood donors, revealed a rather frequent cross-reactivity with retroviral proteins in the MS group, though no patient was positive with the corresponding specific ELISA serology. Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference between the MS group and the two control groups for HIV-1 and HIV-2 reverse transcriptase fragments and for HTLV-1 p24. The general significance of these observations is discussed in the light of a retroviral hypothesis for the aetiology of MS. It is suggested that, if a retrovirus is present in MS patients, it does not necessarily belong to the HTLV sub-family and could as well be a lentivirus, like Visna virus, the causative agent of a demyelinating disease in sheep which is one--natural--model for MS.