@article {10425, title = {Antibody response to polyomavirus primary infection: high seroprevalence of Merkel cell polyomavirus and lymphoid tissue involvement.}, journal = {J Neurovirol}, volume = {24}, year = {2018}, month = {2018 Jun}, pages = {314-322}, abstract = {

Human polyomaviruses (HPyVs) asymptomatically infect the human population establishing latency in the host, and their seroprevalence can reach 90\% in healthy adults. Few studies have focused on the pediatric population, and there are no reports regarding the seroprevalence of all the newly isolated HPyVs among Italian children. Therefore, we investigated the frequency of serum antibodies against 12 PyVs in 182 immunocompetent children from Northeast Italy, by means of a multiplex antibody detection system. Additionally, secondary lymphoid tissues were collected to analyze the presence of HPyV DNA sequences using a specific real-time PCRs or PCRs. Almost 100\% of subjects were seropositive for at least one PyV. Seropositivity ranged from 3\% for antibodies against simian virus 40 (SV40) in children from 0 to 3~years, to 91\% for antibodies against WU polyomavirus (WUPyV) and HPyV10 in children from 8 to 17~years. The mean number of PyV for which children were seropositive increased with the increasing of age: 4 standard deviations (SD) 1.8 in the 0-3-year group, 5 (SD 1.9) in the 4-7-year group, and 6 (SD 2.2) in the 8-17-year group. JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) DNA was detected in 1\% of the adenoids, WUPyV in 12\% of the tonsils, and 28\% of the adenoids, and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) was present in 6 and 2\% of the tonsils and adenoids, respectively. Our study gives new insights on the serological evidence of exposure to PyVs during childhood, and on their possible respiratory route of transmission.

}, issn = {1538-2443}, doi = {10.1007/s13365-017-0612-2}, author = {Cason, Carolina and Monasta, Lorenzo and Zanotta, Nunzia and Campisciano, Giuseppina and Maestri, Iva and Tommasino, Massimo and Pawlita, Michael and Villani, Sonia and Comar, Manola and Delbue, Serena} } @article {1916, title = {Asbestos and SV40 in malignant pleural mesothelioma from a hyperendemic area of north-eastern Italy.}, journal = {Tumori}, volume = {98}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Mar-Apr}, pages = {210-4}, abstract = {

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Malignant mesothelioma is a fatal cancer of increasing incidence in north-eastern Italy. Together with asbestos, the polyomavirus SV40 was hypothesized to contribute to the onset of malignant mesothelioma. To investigate the putative role of SV40 in the individual susceptibility to asbestos-induced malignant mesothelioma, we conducted a molecular epidemiological study on a series of malignant mesothelioma patients from an area in north-eastern Italy hyperendemic for malignant pleural mesothelioma.

METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: We collected 63 mesothelioma samples from incidence cases of patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma in the period 2009-2010. DNA was extracted from patients{\textquoteright} tissue biopsies using the BioRobot EZ1 Qiagen workstation. SV40 sequence detection and quantification was performed by specific real time PCR. The 74.6\% of the 63 enrolled patients had a history of asbestos exposure. The epithelioid histotype was more prevalent in males (64.0\%) and the mixed in females (61.5\%) who showed significantly higher cancer co-morbidity (46.1\% vs 12\%, P = 0.005). SV40 was detected in 22\% of MM tumors, with a low viral load. In SV40-positive patients, a threefold increased risk of asbestos exposure was observed, more evident in females (OR 4.32) than in males (OR 1.20).

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that a high prevalence of SV40 was present in malignant mesothelioma incident cases from an area hyperendemic for malignant mesothelioma in north-eastern Italy. Although asbestos is considered the main risk factor in malignant mesothelioma onset, a role for SV40 could be hypothesized.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Asbestos, Carcinogens, Disease Susceptibility, DNA, Viral, Endemic Diseases, Female, Humans, Italy, Male, Mesothelioma, Middle Aged, Pleural Neoplasms, Polyomavirus Infections, Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction, Risk Factors, Simian virus 40, Tumor Virus Infections, Viral Load}, issn = {2038-2529}, doi = {10.1700/1088.11931}, author = {Comar, Manola and Zanotta, Nunzia and Pesel, Giuliano and Visconti, Patrizia and Maestri, Iva and Rinaldi, Rosa and Crovella, Sergio and Cortale, Maurizio and De Zotti, Renata and Bovenzi, Massimo} }