title: Pepper mild mottle virus, a plant virus associated with specific immune responses, Fever, abdominal pains, and pruritus in humans.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recently, metagenomic studies have identified viable Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), a plant virus, in the stool of healthy subjects. However, its source and role as pathogen have not been determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  21 commercialized food products containing peppers, 357 stool samples from 304 adults and 208 stool samples from 137 children were tested for PMMoV using real-time PCR, sequencing, and electron microscopy. Anti-PMMoV IgM antibody testing was concurrently performed. A case-control study tested the association of biological and clinical symptoms with the presence of PMMoV in the stool. Twelve (57%) food products were positive for PMMoV RNA sequencing. Stool samples from twenty-two (7.2%) adults and one child (0.7%) were positive for PMMoV by real-time PCR. Positive cases were significantly more likely to have been sampled in Dermatology Units (p<10(-6)), to be seropositive for anti-PMMoV IgM antibodies (p = 0.026) and to be patients who exhibited fever, abdominal pains, and pruritus (p = 0.045, 0.038 and 0.046, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study identified a local source of PMMoV and linked the presence of PMMoV RNA in stool with a specific immune response and clinical symptoms. Although clinical symptoms may be imputable to another cofactor, including spicy food, our data suggest the possibility of a direct or indirect pathogenic role of plant viruses in humans.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR) 6236-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) 3R198, Facultés de Médecine et de Pharmacie, Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Colson
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Richet
authors.forename: Christelle
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Desnues
authors.forename: Fanny
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Balique
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Moal
authors.forename: Jean-Jacques
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Grob
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Berbis
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lecoq
authors.forename: Jean-Robert
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Harlé
authors.forename: Yvon
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Berland
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002212:Capsicum / Q000821:virology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D005506:Food Contamination; D006801:Humans; D007109:Immunity; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010942:Plant Viruses / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral
references.citation: Virus Genes. 2007 Apr;34(2):205-14
references.pmid: 17160553
references.citation: PLoS Biol. 2006 Jan;4(1):e3
references.pmid: 16336043
references.citation: Virus Res. 2009 May;141(2):113-30
references.pmid: 19159652
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2004 Dec 2;351(23):2417-27
references.pmid: 15575058
references.citation: J Gen Virol. 1993 Mar;74 ( Pt 3):341-9
references.pmid: 8445364
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Jun 26;104(26):10757-8
references.pmid: 17581867
references.citation: Anim Health Res Rev. 2007 Jun;8(1):69-80
references.pmid: 17692144
references.citation: Clin Infect Dis. 2006 Oct 1;43(7):807-13
references.pmid: 16941358
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994 Sep 13;91(19):9067-71
references.pmid: 8090770
references.citation: J Clin Microbiol. 2002 Nov;40(11):4266-72
references.pmid: 12409408
references.citation: J Virol. 1999 Feb;73(2):930-8
references.pmid: 9882293
references.citation: BMC Microbiol. 2006 Mar 03;6:21
references.pmid: 16515699
references.citation: Micron. 2006;37(2):91-106
references.pmid: 16361103
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Jan 25;102(4):1175-80
references.pmid: 15657123
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1999 Mar 29;354(1383):521-9
references.pmid: 10212931
references.citation: Braz J Med Biol Res. 2002 Jul;35(7):827-35
references.pmid: 12131924
references.citation: Intervirology. 1983;19(3):129-34
references.pmid: 6832939
references.citation: J Virol. 2004 May;78(10):4976-82
references.pmid: 15113877
references.citation: PLoS Pathog. 2008 Feb 29;4(2):e1000011
references.pmid: 18398449
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2009 Nov;75(22):7261-7
references.pmid: 19767474
references.citation: J Virol. 2008 Jan;82(2):785-94
references.pmid: 17989184
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Jun 26;104(26):10986-91
references.pmid: 17573530
references.citation: Infect Immun. 2002 Feb;70(2):692-701
references.pmid: 11796601
references.citation: J Gen Virol. 1997 Oct;78 ( Pt 10):2683-9
references.pmid: 9349491
references.citation: Am Rev Respir Dis. 1967 Mar;95(3):510-1
references.pmid: 6018711
references.citation: Drugs R D. 2006;7(4):203-17
references.pmid: 16784246
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2003 Oct;185(20):6220-3
references.pmid: 14526037
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Jul 6;96(14):8022-7
references.pmid: 10393941
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 Mar 3;95(5):2481-5
references.pmid: 9482911
references.citation: Med Hypotheses. 2004;63(5):773-7
references.pmid: 15488645
references.citation: Future Microbiol. 2010 Feb;5(2):135-7
references.pmid: 20143937