Detection of Retroviral RNA in the CSF of Individuals with Schizophrenia

Division of Developmental Neurovirology, Johns Hopkins University

School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe St./Blalock 1111, Baltimore, MD

of retroviral involvement in the etiology of schizophrenia by

testing 18 CSF’s obtained from first-episode individuals

with schizophrenia-spectrum disorder and 18 CSF’s from

pelleted CSF’s, reverse transcribed, and subjected to PCR

using primers directed towards a conserved region of the

retroviral pol-gene (Tuke et al, Acta Neurol. Scand. 1997.

seven of the 18 schizophrenia samples and in three of the 18

control samples. Subsequent cloning and sequencing of these

products showed that at least six samples from the individuals

with schizophrenia contained a single retroviral species, showing

90-95% homology to the multiple sclerosis associated retrovirus

(Perron et al, PNAS 1997. 94:7583-7588). Individual control

samples were found to contain multiple species, homologous to

human endogenous retroviral sequences (including multiple

sclerosis associated retrovirus), probably originating from

presence of specific retroviral particles in the CSF of acutely

ill individuals with schizophrenia. The retroviral particles may

have arisen from the differential activation of endogenous