gue-syndrome-researcher-mikovits-now-fired-share-data-with-science/
Why didn=92t XMRV-chronic fatigue syndrome researcher Mikovits =97 now
fired =97 share data with=A0Science?
The saga of XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) continues, with
the news that Judy Mikovits, a main proponent of the link between the
virus and CFS, has been fired from her post at the Whittemore Peterson
Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease (WPI) in Reno. From a blog post
yesterday on X Rx: "Breaking news. The entire WPI research program has
been closed by the institute=92s CEO, and the facility is now locked
down. It=92s former principle investigator, Dr. Judy Mikovits, is in
active discussions concerning institutions to which she may move to
continue her grant-funded research."
We spoke to Mikovits last week, apparently within a day of her being
fired, according to the sequence of events reported today on the Wall
Street Journal Health Blog. We were interested in her reaction to a
comment to Retraction Watch by Science executive editor Monica
Bradford about why the 2009 study Mikovits had co-authored had been
partially retracted =97 a rare move, as we noted: "While we were aware
that other co-authors had tested samples and claimed to not find
evidence of plasmid contamination, those co-authors were unwilling to
provide their data for examination so we were unable to comment on the
validity of the other experiments."
The contamination Bradford refers to had been reported to Science by
two of the 2009 study=92s co-authors, both of whom are at the Cleveland
Clinic. According to the notice: "=85two of the coauthors, Silverman and
Das Gupta, analyzed DNA samples from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)
patients and healthy controls. A reexamination by Silverman and Das
Gupta of the samples they used shows that some of the CFS peripheral
blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) DNA preparations are contaminated with
XMRV plasmid DNA (2)."
We spoke to Mikovits for a while, during which time she walked us
through a presentation she gave on September 23 at a CFS meeting in
Ottawa. Mikovits stressed that she believes a number of XMRV relatives
are linked to CFS, and that the family needs a new name: HGRV, for
human gammaretrovirus.
When we asked about the samples, Mikovits told us last week: "The
reason why we didn=92t give the actual data to Science and start a
spitting match is that the point in science isn=92t to place blame. The
point is to get to the bottom of what=92s going on."
But in getting to the bottom of what was going on, Mikovits became
convinced that, in fact, one lab was to blame: "The only conclusion is
that they were contaminated in the Cleveland Clinic."
Unfortunately, three of the six samples from the Cleveland Clinic were
the ones used to derive the whole sequence of the virus. But, says
Mikovits: "We decided not to throw them under the bus. We don=92t
believe it=92s in the interests of science. People make mistakes. They
worked very hard to sequence the virus, and now we have to do the next
generation."
She continued: "I told all the editors all this, and they agreed there
was no reason to retract the whole paper."
By not providing the data, however, Mikovits has left everyone
wondering about her samples. And what led to her firing seems to have
been a similar situation. From the WSJ Health Blog report: "In a
letter from Whittemore Peterson President Annette Whittemore to
Mikovits, which was reviewed by Health Blog, Mikovits was terminated
after refusing Whittemore=92s direct request that cell lines be turned
over to another scientist at the institute who wanted to do research
on them.
In a letter of response, Mikovits said that the cells were for use in
a specific NIH-funded project and that it would be inappropriate to
use them for another purpose without her knowledge and consent."
We=92ll of course keep an eye on this rapidly evolving situation.
Update, 7:30 p.m. Eastern: The Chicago Tribune=92s Trine Tsouderos, who
has been covering the XMRV-CFS story for years, just tweeted the
following comment from Science, apparently in response to questions
about a story she=92s about to file:
=93We are aware of allegations of mislabeled images in 1 of the figures
in the 2009 Science paper + in meeting slides.=94
Tsouderos=92 story comes on the heels of a post by Abbie Smith alleging
such image manipulation.
Update, 8 p.m. Eastern: Here=92s Tsouderos=92 story, with details and a
response from WPI.
Hat tip for X Rx post: Kim McCleary
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