Absence of XMRV and Closely Related Viruses in Primary Prostate Cancer Tissues Used to Derive the XMRV-Infected Cell Line 22Rv1

The 22Rv1 cell line is widely used for prostate cancer research and other studies throughout the world. These cells were established from a human prostate tumor, CWR22, that was serially passaged in nude mice and selected for androgen independence. The 22Rv1 cells are known to produce high titers of xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV). Recent studies suggested that XMRV was inadvertently created in the 1990's when two murine leukemia virus (MLV) genomes (pre-XMRV1 and pre-XMRV-2) recombined during passaging of the CWR22 tumor in mice. The conclusion that XMRV originated from mice and not the patient was based partly on the failure to detect XMRV in early CWR22 xenografts. While that deduction is certainly justified, we examined the possibility that a closely related virus could have been present in primary tumor tissue. Here we report that we have located the original prostate tumor tissue excised from patient CWR22 and have assayed the corresponding DNA by PCR and the tissue sections by fluorescence in situ hybridization for the presence of XMRV or a similar virus. The primary tumor tissues lacked mouse DNA as determined by PCR for intracisternal A type particle DNA, thus avoiding one of the limitations of studying xenografts. We show that neither XMRV nor a closely related virus was present in primary prostate tissue of patient CWR22. Our findings confirm and reinforce the conclusion that XMRV is a recombinant laboratory-generated mouse virus that is highly adapted for human prostate cancer cells

Inhibition of Multi-Drug Resistant HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase by Nucleoside Beta-Triphosphates

Despite the success of potent reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in combination regimens, the development of drug resistant RTs constitutes a major hurdle for the long-term efficacy of current antiretroviral therapy. Nucleoside β-triphosphate analogs of adenosine and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) (3′-azido-2′,3′-dideoxythymidine (AZT), 3′-fluoro-2′,3′-dideoxythymidine (FLT), and 2′,3′-didehydro-2′,3′-dideoxythymidine (d4T)) were synthesized and their inhibitory activities were evaluated against wild-type and multidrug resistant HIV-1 RTs. Adenosine β-triphosphate (1) and AZT β-triphosphate (2) completely inhibited the DNA polymerase activity of wild type, the NRTI multi resistant, and nonnucleoside RT inhibitors (NNRTI) resistant HIV-1 RT at 10 nM, 10 and 100 μM, respectively

XMRV and prostate cancer - a 'final' perspective

XMRV was first described in 2006, when it was identified in samples isolated from prostate cancer tissues. However, studies have since shown that XMRV arose in the laboratory and was formed by genetic recombination between two viral genomes carried in the germline DNA of mice used during serial transplantation of the CWR22 prostate cancer xenograft. These new findings strongly imply that XMRV does not circulate in humans, but is only present in the laboratory. Thus, there is no reason to believe that it has any role in the etiology of prostate cancer or other diseases.Karen S. Sfanos, Amanda L. Aloia, Angelo M. De Marzo & Alan Rei

Genetic epidemiology of autoinflammatory disease variants in Indian population from 1029 whole genomes

Abstract Background Autoinflammatory disorders are the group of inherited inflammatory disorders caused due to the genetic defect in the genes that regulates innate immune systems. These have been clinically characterized based on the duration and occurrence of unprovoked fever, skin rash, and patient’s ancestry. There are several autoinflammatory disorders that are found to be prevalent in a specific population and whose disease genetic epidemiology within the population has been well understood. However, India has a limited number of genetic studies reported for autoinflammatory disorders till date. The whole genome sequencing and analysis of 1029 Indian individuals performed under the IndiGen project persuaded us to perform the genetic epidemiology of the autoinflammatory disorders in India. Results We have systematically annotated the genetic variants of 56 genes implicated in autoinflammatory disorder. These genetic variants were reclassified into five categories (i.e., pathogenic, likely pathogenic, benign, likely benign, and variant of uncertain significance (VUS)) according to the American College of Medical Genetics and Association of Molecular pathology (ACMG-AMP) guidelines. Our analysis revealed 20 pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants with significant differences in the allele frequency compared with the global population. We also found six causal founder variants in the IndiGen dataset belonging to different ancestry. We have performed haplotype prediction analysis for founder mutations haplotype that reveals the admixture of the South Asian population with other populations. The cumulative carrier frequency of the autoinflammatory disorder in India was found to be 3.5% which is much higher than reported. Conclusion With such frequency in the Indian population, there is a great need for awareness among clinicians as well as the general public regarding the autoinflammatory disorder. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first and most comprehensive population scale genetic epidemiological study being reported from India