Human polyomaviruses genomes in clinical specimens of colon cancer patients

Abstract

Colon cancer is the third cause of cancer death in the developed countries. Some environmental factors are involved in its pathogenesis, including viral infections. The possible involvement of human polyomaviruses (HPyVs) in colon cancer pathogenesis has been previously reported, leading to inconsistent conclusions. Clinical specimens were collected from 125 colon cancer patients. Specifically, 110 tumor tissues, 55 negative surgical margins, and 39 peripheral blood samples were analyzed for the presence of six HPyVs: JC polyomavirus (JCPyV), BK polyomavirus (BKPyV), Merkel cell PyV (MCPyV), HPyV −6, −7, and −9 by means of DNA isolation and subsequent duplex Real Time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. HPyVs genome was detected in 33/204 samples (16.2%): the significant higher positivity was found in tumor tissues (26/110, 23.6%), followed by negative surgical margins (3/55, 5.5%, p < .05), and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) (4/39; 10.3%).HPyVs load was statistically higher only in the tumor tissues compared to negative surgical margins (p < .05). Specifically, MCPyV was detected in 19.1% (21/110) of tumor tissues, 3.6% (2/55) of negative surgical margins (p < .05), and 7.7% (3/39) of PBMCs; HPyV-6 in 2.7% (3/110) of tumor tissues, and 1.8% (1/55) of negative surgical margins; one tumor tissue (1/110, 0.9%) and one PBMCs sample (1/39, 2.6%) were positive for BKPyV; JCPyV was present in 0.9% (1/110) of tumor tissues.HPyV-7 and 9 were not detected in any sample. High prevalence and load of MCPyV genome in the tumor tissues might be indicative of a relevant rather than bystander role of the virus in the colon tumorigenesis.

Longitudinal study of human polyomaviruses viruria in kidney transplant recipients

“…A singleplex for JCPyV and for BKPyV DNA were performed. The sequences of the primers and probes as well as the composition of the reaction mix and the thermal cycle of the Real-Time PCR have already been reported in previous publications [ 18 , 19 ]. Viral loads in urine samples and renal biopsies were expressed as copies/mL and copies/µg, respectively.…”

Merkel Cell Polyomavirus (MCPyV) and Cancers: Emergency Bell or False Alarm?

“…Some evidence points to pathogens, such as viruses, as risk factors for its oncogenesis. [ 159 , 160 , 161 ]. Nevertheless, studies showed a very low prevalence (3.5%) with low and even no positivity toward viral transcripts [ 82 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 ].…”