title: Merkel cell polyomavirus DNA sequences in the buffy coats of healthy blood donors.
abstract: Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), a DNA tumor virus, has been found to be associated with Merkel cell carcinoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. MCPyV sequences have also been detected in various normal tissues in tumor-affected patients. Immunologic studies have detected MCPyV antibodies in as many as 80% of healthy blood donors. This high seroprevalence suggests that MCPyV infection is widespread in humans. In our study, buffy coats, which were examined for MCPyV DNA Tag sequences, showed a prevalence of 22%. Viral DNA load was revealed in blood samples from 10 to 100 molecules/100 000 cells. DNA sequencing confirmed that polymerase chain reaction amplicons belong to the MCPyV strain, MKL-1. To interpret the putative role of MCPyV in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, we may infer that, during a long period of viral persistence in blood cells, this DNA tumor virus may generate mutants, which are able to participate as cofactors in the multistep process of cell transformation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphology and Embryology, Section of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; and.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pancaldi
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Corazzari
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maniero
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mazzoni
authors.forename: Manola
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Comar
authors.forename: Fernanda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Martini
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tognon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001483:Base Sequence; D058621:Blood Buffy Coat / Q000821:virology*; D015266:Carcinoma, Merkel Cell / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D030561:Databases, Nucleic Acid; D020224:Expressed Sequence Tags; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011120:Polyomavirus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D027601:Polyomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D019562:Viral Load; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral