HUMAN T-CELL LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS TAX AND EPSTEIN-BARR-VIRUS DNA IN PERIPHERAL-BLOOD OF MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS PATIENTS DURING ACUTE ATTACK

Objectives - A study was performed to determine whether persistent or latent viruses are reactivated during the acute attack in relapsing re mitting multiple sclerosis (MS). Material and methods - DNA of herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and -2), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV ), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), JC virus (JCV) and HTLV-I was searched, u sing nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in peripheral blood monon uclear cells (PBMCs) collected from 14 MS patients on the first day an d, twice a week, during an acute attack of the disease. Results Viral DNA was detected, in at least one PBMC sample, in all the patients. In terestingly, EBV DNA was found in 42.8% of the patients on the first d ay, while a sharp increase of the HTLV tax-rex DNA frequency (35.7%) w as observed on the tenth day. Conclusions - In MS relapse EBV DNA dete ction is an early, frequent event, while the finding of tax-lex, but n ot of other HTLV-I genomic regions, is a secondary phenomenon, suggest ing that these two factors could interact in the pathogenesis of MS re lapses.