Have the endogenous retroviruses in AIDS and Chronic Fatigue syndrome been confused with extracellular vesicles? Was the Perth Group right about HIV and was Judy Mikovits really looking at an endogenous retrovirus?
"Extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by various cells are small phospholipid membrane-enclosed entities that can
carry miRNA. They are now central to research in many fields of biology because they seem to constitute a new
system of cell–cell communication. Physical and chemical characteristics of many EVs, as well as their biogenesis
pathways, resemble those of retroviruses. Moreover, EVs generated by virus-infected cells can incorporate viral
proteins and fragments of viral RNA, being thus indistinguishable from defective (noninfectious) retroviruses.
EVs, depending on the proteins and genetic material incorporated in them, play a significant role in viral
infection, both facilitating and suppressing it. Deciphering the mechanisms of EV-cell interactions may facilitate
the design of EVs that inhibit viral infection and can be used as vehicles for targeted drug delivery."
Extracellular vesicles and viruses: Are they close relatives? (pnas.org)
Diagnosis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome With Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis: Relevance of Blood Extracellular Vesicles