Investigation of simian virus 40 large T antigen in 18 autopsied malignant mesothelioma patients in Japan.
It has been reported that Simian virus 40 (SV40) is linked to human beings by inoculation of contaminated poliovaccines and may have a role in the etiology of malignant mesothelioma. However, there have been no reports describing the relationship between SV40 and malignant mesothelioma in Japan. A study was undertaken to investigate whether SV40 was related to patients of malignant mesothelioma in Japan by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, DNA sequence analysis, and immunohistochemical methods. Paraffin-embedded samples of the 18 autopsied patients with pleural malignant mesothelioma were collected from five hospitals in Japan. After isolation of DNA from paraffin blocks, PCR analyses followed by sequencing were performed using three different sets of primers for detection of SV40 large T antigen (TAg) gene. All 18 malignant mesothelioma samples were also immunohistochemically evaluated for expression of SV40 TAg protein with two different anti-SV40 TAg antibodies. SV40 TAg genome was detected in eight malignant mesothelioma cases. Only one of three primer pairs successfully amplified SV40 genome in the samples, whereas all pairs yielded a PCR product in the controls, suggesting a low content of virus DNA. No immunopositive staining for SV40 TAg was found in any of the samples. This study shows that SV40 genome was present in a subset of Japanese malignant mesothelioma patients who were unlikely to have received a contaminated polio vaccine based on their age.
Laboratory of Molecular & Cellular Pathology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
Mulan
M
Jin
Hirofumi
H
Sawa
Tadaki
T
Suzuki
Kazuko
K
Shimizu
Yoshinori
Y
Makino
Shinya
S
Tanaka
Takayuki
T
Nojima
Yasunori
Y
Fujioka
Makoto
M
Asamoto
Noriaki
N
Suko
Miri
M
Fujita
Kazuo
K
Nagashima
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000957:Antigens, Viral, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001344:Autopsy; D002460:Cell Line; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D004340:Drug Contamination; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007564:Japan; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D011054:Poliovirus Vaccine, Inactivated; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013539:Simian virus 40 / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D000957:Antigens, Viral, Tumor; D004279:DNA, Viral; D011054:Poliovirus Vaccine, Inactivated