Human cytomegalovirus tegument protein pp65 is detected in all intra- and extra-axial brain tumours independent of the tumour type or grade

• Published in: PloS one 2014-09, Vol.9 (9), p.e108861-e108861
• Main Authors: Libard, Sylwia, Popova, Svetlana N, Amini, Rose-Marie, Kärjä, Vesa, Pietiläinen, Timo, Hämäläinen, Kirsi M, Sundström, Christer, Hesselager, Göran, Bergqvist, Michael, Ekman, Simon, Zetterling, Maria, Smits, Anja, Nilsson, Pelle, Pfeifer, Susan, de Ståhl, Teresita Diaz, Enblad, Gunilla, Ponten, Fredrik, Alafuzoff, Irina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antibodies; Antigens; Antiviral agents; B-cell lymphoma; Biology and Life Sciences; Brain; Brain cancer; Brain Neoplasms - pathology; Brain Neoplasms - virology; Brain research; Brain tumors; Clinical trials; Cloning; Cohort Studies; Cores; Cytomegalovirus; Cytomegalovirus - isolation & purification; Cytomegalovirus - metabolism; Cytomegalovirus infections; Degeneration; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Female; Glioblastoma; Glioblastoma - pathology; Glioblastoma - virology; Glioma; Gliomas; Health aspects; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Immunology; Immunoreactivity; Infection; Infections; Labeling; Labelling; Lymphocytes B; Lymphoma; Lymphoma - pathology; Lymphoma - virology; Lymphomas; Male; Medical prognosis; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Medicine and Health Sciences; Medulloblastoma - pathology; Medulloblastoma - virology; Meningioma - pathology; Meningioma - virology; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Grading; Neurodegeneration; Neurosurgery; Oncology; Pathology; Patologi; Phosphoproteins - analysis; Pp65 protein; Protein expression; Proteins; R&D; Research & development; Sampling methods; Tegument; Telomerase; Tumors; Viral Matrix Proteins - analysis; Viruses; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108861

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has been indicated being a significant oncomodulator. Recent reports have suggested that an antiviral treatment alters the outcome of a glioblastoma. We analysed the performance of commercial HCMV-antibodies applying the immunohistochemical (IHC) methods on brain sample obtained from a subject with a verified HCMV infection, on samples obtained from 14 control subjects, and on a tissue microarray block containing cores of various brain tumours. Based on these trials, we selected the best performing antibody and analysed a cohort of 417 extra- and intra-axial brain tumours such as gliomas, medulloblastomas, primary diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, and meningiomas. HCMV protein pp65 immunoreactivity was observed in all types of tumours analysed, and the IHC expression did not depend on the patient's age, gender, tumour type, or grade. The labelling pattern observed in the tumours differed from the labelling pattern observed in the tissue with an active HCMV infection. The HCMV protein was expressed in up to 90% of all the tumours investigated. Our results are in accordance with previous reports regarding the HCMV protein expression in glioblastomas and medulloblastomas. In addition, the HCMV protein expression was seen in primary brain lymphomas, low-grade gliomas, and in meningiomas. Our results indicate that the HCMV protein pp65 expression is common in intra- and extra-axial brain tumours. Thus, the assessment of the HCMV expression in tumours of various origins and pathologically altered tissue in conditions such as inflammation, infection, and even degeneration should certainly be facilitated.