Detection of Merkel Cell Polyomavirus in the Human Tissues from 41 Japanese Autopsy Cases Using Polymerase Chain Reaction.
Sept 2012
Matsushita M, Kuwamoto S, Iwasaki T, Higaki-Mori H, Yashima S, Kato M, Murakami I, Horie Y, Kitamura Y, Hayashi K.
Source
Division of Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Yonago, Japan.
Abstract
It has recently been shown that approximately 80% of Merkel cell carcinomas harbor a novel polyomavirus named Merkel cellpolyomavirus (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.
