TWiV 76: XMRV with Professor Stephen Goff

April 4, 2010

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Stephen Goff

Vincent speaks with Stephen Goff about the origin of the retrovirus XMRV and its association with prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome.

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  • Kati D

    CFS: Vincent, thank you for your work. I am a CFS patient so I have taken interest into your virology information- I can “almost” understand everything that you say!!!

    Just for clarification, there have been biomarkers suggesting presence of CFS like low Natural Killer Cells and function, and RNase=L abnormalities (LMW), Herpes Virus activation.

    The Canadian Consensus is a document that is used for diagnosing CFS patients in the most accurate way at the moment, http://www.cfids-cab.org/MESA/ccpccd.pdf although not well known through physician population. It is a very political disease as for the las few decades the CDC has promoted it as being a psychiatric illness.

    The CFS population is extatic about XRMV and as weird as it sounds, want to test positive for XMRV for there is hope for treatment and also validation of their disease.

  • aaronharmon80

    If XMRV infects rats, then why couldn't it be zoonotic from rats, who at some point got it from mice?

  • http://www.virology.ws profvrr

    Steve Goff's reply to your question: “Right, we should assume the
    virus may be present in many mammals (most have the receptor), and so
    it may be transmitted as an exogenous virus widely among many mammals,
    including rats and primates. Indeed, although lab strains of mice do
    not have a functional receptor and so are resistant, many wild mice
    are sensitive. Humans may have acquired the virus from any number of
    mammals. Mice, rats, and others are all possible sources. We simply
    happen to know that mice have integrated copies of very, very, similar
    viruses in their genomes (while rats and most other mammals do not).
    On that basis my bet is that mice are very likely a source.”

  • Mya_Symons

    I have a question regarding the PCR Assay. (I don't know if I spelled that right).

    My question is: When HIV first surfaced, were scientists/doctors able to find or identify the HIV virus using the PCR method?

  • http://www.virology.ws profvrr

    AIDS was first recognized clinically in 1981 and the virus was
    isolated two years later. This work was done without the benefit of
    polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which was developed in 1983.

  • lancelot

    That was a very informative interview with Professor Goff. With the limited information and studies to go by, he seems to have a good grasp and rational views on XMRV, prostate cancer, and CFS.

    Can mouse XMRV contamination show this kind of replication and infection when IV’d into primates? It is also very interesting to know that an exogenous retrovirus infection will produce recombinants with endogenous retroviruses.

    Do you know where i can get an update on Professor Goff’s work with XMRV? Thank you!

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  • Anonymous

     I want to ask is that if any one has HIV then what should exactly way get out from this…
    Body Ache