title: First isolation of Mimivirus in a patient with pneumonia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mimiviridae Mimivirus, including the largest known viruses, multiply in amoebae. Mimiviruses have been linked to pneumonia, but they have never been isolated from patients. To further understand the pathogenic role of these viruses, we aimed to isolate them from a patient presenting with pneumonia.
  
  
  METHODS
  We cultured, on Acanthamoeba polyphaga amoebae, pulmonary samples from 196 Tunisian patients with community-acquired pneumonia during the period 2009-2010. An improved technique was used for Mimivirus isolation, which used agar plates where the growth of giant viruses is revealed by the formation of lysis plaques. Mimivirus serology was tested by microimmunofluorescence and by bidimensional immunoproteomic analysis using Mimivirus strains, to identify specific immunoreactive proteins. The new Mimivirus strain genome sequencing was performed on Roche 454 GS FLX Titanium, then AB SOLiD instruments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We successfully isolated a Mimivirus (LBA111), the largest virus ever isolated in a human sample, from a 72-year-old woman presenting with pneumonia. Electron microscopy revealed a Mimivirus-like virion with a size of 554 ± 10 nm. The LBA111 genome is 1.23 megabases, and it is closely related to that of Megavirus chilensis. Furthermore, the serum from the patient reacted specifically to the virus compared to controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first Mimivirus isolated from a human specimen. The findings presented above together with previous works establish that mimiviruses can be associated with pneumonia. The common occurrence of these viruses in water and soil makes them probable global agents that are worthy of investigation.
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche sur le Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes, UM63, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 7278, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement 198, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale 1095, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Hanene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saadi
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pagnier
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Colson
authors.forename: Jouda Kanoun
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Cherif
authors.forename: Majed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beji
authors.forename: Mondher
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boughalmi
authors.forename: Saïd
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Azza
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Robert
authors.forename: Ghislain
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fournous
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: La Scola
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
mesh_terms: D000048:Acanthamoeba / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000821:virology; D000368:Aged; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004266:DNA Virus Infections / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D015180:Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional; D005260:Female; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006801:Humans; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D056686:Mimiviridae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011024:Pneumonia, Viral / Q000821:virology*; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017385:Sequence Homology; D012703:Serotyping; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins
keywords: Mimivirus; giant virus; human virus; pneumonia