XMRV Wars

Everybody was braced for the Point-Counterpoint between Dr. Mikovits and Dr. Coffin. However, the heat was extinguished by the introductory presentation of Dr. Graham Simmons who eloquently summarized the results of XMRV testing in 7 laboratories, all of whom were provided blinded specimens (negative controls, spiked (known) positives, and patient samples). Overall, XMRV/MLV was not confirmed in Persons with CFS (PWCs). Only Dr. Mikovits and her colleague Dr. Ruscetti found positive controls, and even these showed disagreement with replicate samples. Thus the work of Mikovits and Ruscetti seemed tainted right from the start.

Nevertheless, Dr. Mikovits (of the Whittemore-Peterson Institute, Reno NV) made a very nice presentation of her own work, explaining that she had double checked all specimens from the original article and found only 6 that were possibly contaminated, and sticking firmly to her hypothesis that XMRV is associated with ME/CFS.

Dr. Coffin (Tufts University, Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Boston MA) countered with a very complicated explanation of how XMRV is most likely the consequence of artifacts originating from leukemia viruses prevalent in both wild and laboratory mice. He explained that such contaminants are widely found in labs and on work surfaces, and that many cell lines that are used to propagate viruses have been contaminated over the years.

Coffin cited the inability of other labs to duplicate Mikovits’s efforts; but Dr. Mikovits pointed out that other labs used techniques different from hers and that it took years for labs to find the HIV virus and corroborate findings. In Dr. Mikovits’s eyes, the issue is not dead (but perhaps on life support).