Prevalence of tumor viruses in malignancies and their possible role in the oncogenesis

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25860829
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Infectious disease medicine
• Research Institution: Kochi University
• Principal Investigator: Taniguchi Ayuko 高知大学, 教育研究部医療学系臨床医学部門, 助教 (30403885)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: ウイルス / 腫瘍 / 微生物

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) is the first polyomavirus that induces human malignancies. In this study, we investigate the prevalence of MCPyV in various malignancies. We described here our new findings on relationship between various viruses and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive primary brain tumor. Recent studies stemmed from American and European populations showed that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) DNA sequences were detected in a large portion of GBM, suggesting the pathogenetic role of HCMV in the development of GBM. The present study showed that any of our patients with GBM did not carry MCPyV in the tumors. In contrast with previous reports, our results did not support the association between HCMV and GBM. However, our investigations demonstrated the presence of the viral genome and protein of high-risk-type human papillomavirus (HPV) in a subset of Japanese patients with GBMs. Thus, HPV infection may play a potential etiological role in gliomagenesis.

Free Research Field

感染症学