TY - JOUR
T1 - No evidence known viruses play a role in the pathogenesis of onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy. An explorative metagenomic case-control study
AU - Roach, Michael
AU - Cantu, Adrian
AU - Vieri, Melissa Krizia
AU - Cotten, Matthew
AU - Kellam, Paul
AU - Phan, My
AU - van der Hoek, Lia
AU - Mandro, Michel
AU - Tepage, Floribert
AU - Mambandu, Germain
AU - Musinya, Gisele
AU - Laudisoit, Anne
AU - Colebunders, Robert
AU - Edwards, Robert
AU - Mokili, John L.
N1 - Funding Information: R.C. and J.L.M. received funding from the European Research Council (ERC 671055). R.E. was supported by National Institutes of Health grant RC2 DK116713-01A1. Acknowledgments: We thank the Sanger institute, for the genomic sequencing and Doctors without Borders Switzerland for their logistical support for the expedition to Titule, and all the participants in the study. Funding Information: Funding: R.C. and J.L.M. received funding from the European Research Council (ERC 671055). R.E. was supported by National Institutes of Health grant RC2 DK116713-01A1. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/7/1
Y1 - 2021/7/1
N2 - Despite the increasing epidemiological evidence that the Onchocerca volvulus parasite is strongly associated with epilepsy in children, hence the name onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy (OAE), the pathophysiological mechanism of OAE remains to be elucidated. In June 2014, children with unprovoked convulsive epilepsy and healthy controls were enrolled in a case control study in Titule, Bas-Uélé Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to identify risk factors for epilepsy. Using a subset of samples collected from individuals enrolled in this study (16 persons with OAE and 9 controls) plasma, buffy coat, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were subjected to random-primed next-generation sequencing. The resulting sequences were analyzed using sensitive computational methods to identify viral DNA and RNA sequences. Anneloviridae, Flaviviridae, Hepad-naviridae (Hepatitis B virus), Herpesviridae, Papillomaviridae, Polyomaviridae (Human polyomavirus), and Virgaviridae were identified in cases and in controls. Not unexpectedly, a variety of bacteriophages were also detected in all cases and controls. However, none of the identified viral sequences were found enriched in OAE cases, which was our criteria for agents that might play a role in the etiology or pathogenesis of OAE.
AB - Despite the increasing epidemiological evidence that the Onchocerca volvulus parasite is strongly associated with epilepsy in children, hence the name onchocerciasis-associated epilepsy (OAE), the pathophysiological mechanism of OAE remains to be elucidated. In June 2014, children with unprovoked convulsive epilepsy and healthy controls were enrolled in a case control study in Titule, Bas-Uélé Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to identify risk factors for epilepsy. Using a subset of samples collected from individuals enrolled in this study (16 persons with OAE and 9 controls) plasma, buffy coat, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were subjected to random-primed next-generation sequencing. The resulting sequences were analyzed using sensitive computational methods to identify viral DNA and RNA sequences. Anneloviridae, Flaviviridae, Hepad-naviridae (Hepatitis B virus), Herpesviridae, Papillomaviridae, Polyomaviridae (Human polyomavirus), and Virgaviridae were identified in cases and in controls. Not unexpectedly, a variety of bacteriophages were also detected in all cases and controls. However, none of the identified viral sequences were found enriched in OAE cases, which was our criteria for agents that might play a role in the etiology or pathogenesis of OAE.
KW - Democratic Republic of Congo
KW - Epilepsy
KW - Nodding syndrome
KW - Onchocerciasis
KW - Viruses
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85114384244&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10070787
DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10070787
M3 - Article
C2 - 34206564
SN - 2076-0817
VL - 10
JO - Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)
JF - Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)
IS - 7
M1 - 787
ER -