title: Detection of Merkel cell polyomavirus large T-antigen sequences in human central nervous system tumors.
abstract: Despite decades of epidemiological investigation, little is known about the etiology of the central nervous system (CNS) tumors, and few well-established risk factors have been recognized. This study tested the presence of Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), the only member of the Polyomaviridae family convincingly linked to human cancer, in diverse CNS malignancies. In total, 58 CNS tumor biopsies were analyzed for the MCPyV large T-antigen (LT-Ag) gene by quantitative real-time PCR. Merkel cell polyomavirus LT-Ag DNA load was determined as viral copies per cell and viral copies per microliter of purified genomic DNA from CNS tumor samples. The MCPyV LT-Ag sequence was detected in 34 (58.6%) of the 58 tested samples. Viral LT-Ag was quantified in 19.0% of schwannomas, 13.8% of meningiomas, and 5.2% of pituitary adenomas. The difference between MCPyV positivity in different types of CNS malignancies was not statistically significant (P = 0.066). The mean LT-Ag copy number in 34 positive samples was 744.5 ± 737.7 and 0.056 × 10(-3)  ± 0.091 × 10(-3) per microliter and per cell, respectively. Among MCPyV-positive CNS tumors, the mean MCPyV copy number was higher in meningiomas (993.8 ± 853.2 copy per microliter and 0.098 × 10(-3)  ± 0.108 × 10(-3) copy per cell). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed statistically significant difference in MCPyV copy number between meningioma and other CNS tumor types, when the model was adjusted for age and sex (P = 0.024). This study shows the first evidence of the detection of MCPyV LT-Ag sequence at a low copy number in human CNS tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, School of Public Health, Tehran, Iran; Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Babol University of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Farzin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sadeghi
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salehi-Vaziri
authors.forename: Ahad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alizadeh
authors.forename: Seyed Mohammad
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ghodsi
authors.forename: Farah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bokharaei-Salim
authors.forename: Abolfazl
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fateh
authors.forename: Seyed Hamidreza
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Monavari
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Keyvani
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000957:Antigens, Viral, Tumor / Q000235:genetics*; D016543:Central Nervous System Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000821:virology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004279:DNA, Viral; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D059965:Merkel cell polyomavirus / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D027601:Polyomavirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000821:virology*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000821:virology*; D019562:Viral Load; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000957:Antigens, Viral, Tumor; D004279:DNA, Viral
keywords: central nervous system tumors; large T-antigen; merkel cell polyomavirus