title: Detection of Merkel cell polyomavirus in the human tissues from 41 Japanese autopsy cases using polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: It has recently been shown that approximately 80% of Merkel cell carcinomas harbor a novel polyomavirus named Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). MCPyV has been detected in human tissue samples. However, detailed distribution of MCPyV in non-neoplastic Japanese human tissues remains unclear. To address this, we used single or real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for 41 autopsy cases. PCR revealed MCPyV-DNA in non-neoplastic samples: total, 29/41 (71%); adult, 29/39 (74%); fetus or infant, 0/2; men, 24/28 (86%); women, 5/13 (38%); total human tissues, 66/572 (12%); skin, 8/15 (53%); adrenal gland, 9/33 (27%), and other 16 organs (4-25%). This study first reported the presence of MCPyV-DNA in non-neoplastic tissues of thyroid gland, adrenal gland, spleen, bone marrow, stomach, gallbladder, pancreas, heart, and aorta. PCR revealed that viral load ranged from 0.00026 to 0.22 in all MCPyV-positive tissues compared with Merkel cell carcinoma samples. These detailed PCR data showed higher prevalence of MCPyV infection in Japanese men than women (p = 0.004) and broad distribution of MCPyV with low viral load in more non-neoplastic human tissues than in the previous reports. These data provide valuable insights for further studies of MCPyV infection and MCPyV-related diseases.
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Yonago, Tottori 683-8503, Japan. hayashik @ med.tottori-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kuwamoto
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Higaki-Mori
authors.forename: Shoji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yashima
authors.forename: Masako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Horie
authors.forename: Yukisato
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hayashi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015266:Carcinoma, Merkel Cell / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D059965:Merkel cell polyomavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000821:virology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D027601:Polyomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D012737:Sex Factors; D019562:Viral Load