Identification of the major HHV-6 antigen recognized by cerebrospinal fluid IgG in multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Different data show an association between human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) and multiple sclerosis (MS). Intrathecal anti-HHV-6 immunoglobulin G (IgG) was detected in MS patients, but the antigen recognized by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) IgG has not been characterized yet. Our objective was to identify the HHV-6 antigens recognized by IgG present in the CSF of patients with MS. METHODS: Cerebrospinal fluid IgG of 15 MS patients and eight patients with other neurological diseases was purified on protein G Sepharose columns. Purified IgG from every patient was linked to a CNBr-activated Sepharose 4B column. Fifty micrograms of viral extract was applied to each column. Bound proteins were eluted and analysed by SDS-PAGE and silver staining. The viral protein was characterized by mass spectrometry. RESULTS: A protein of 150 kD was eluted from CSF IgG columns of three of eight patients with primary progressive MS and one of seven with relapsing-remitting MS. After digestion and mass spectrometry analysis 10 peptides were found with 100% homology with the major capsid protein of the HHV-6A. DISCUSSION: These findings confirm the presence of anti-HHV-6 IgG in CSF of MS patients, particularly in progressive forms, and identify major capsid protein as the major antigen recognized by CSF IgG from MS patients.

Fumonisin production by Gibberella fujikuroi strains from Pinus species.

Fumonisins are important mycotoxins basically produced by strains from the Gibberella fujikuroi species complex (with anamorphs in Fusarium genus) which contaminate food and feed products representing a risk to human and animal health. In this work, we report for the first time the fumonisin production of Fusarium moniliforme Sheldon strains associated to edible pine nuts of Pinus pinea. P. pinea is an important and widely distributed Pinus species in the Mediterranean area where their pine nuts are consumed raw or slightly processed in diverse food products. In this work, characterization and further identification of those strains were performed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLPs) of the intergenic spacer region of the rDNA (IGS) with the aid of the eight mating populations (A-H) described for G. fujikuroi species complex. The method was powerful to detect polymorphism, allowing discrimination between individuals and could be used to study the genetic relationships among them and within the G. fujikuroi species complex. Fusarium strains associated to Pinus radiata were also included in the present study. These strains did not produce fumonisins and showed no close relation with the strains isolated from P. pinea. The approach used in this work was rapid and proved to be efficient to assist identification and to characterize and analyse relatedness of new isolates within the G. fujikuroi species complex.