An editorial by the Editor-in-Chief was recently published in this Journal[1] on the association of simian virus 40 (SV40) with specific types of human cancers: brain and bone tumors, lymphomas and mesotheliomas. While we agree with the author of the editorial that the association of SV40 with human tumors does not establish, at present, a causative link and that it is clearly premature to label SV40 as a human carcinogen, nevertheless we would like to point out some aspects of the topic that, in our opinion, have been omitted or not properly considered in the editorial. 1. The copy number of the SV40 genomes in human lymphoproliferative disorders and PBMC specimens was measured and was estimated, by semiquantitative PCR, to be between 10-4 and 10-2 genome equivalents per cell.[2] This result was confirmed by in situ hybridization experiments,[3] which detected 1 out of 250 cells positive for SV40 DNA in human lymphoblastoid B-cells, a value fitting the results of the previous analysis.[2] Recent contributions[4][5][6] have shown that human mesothelial cells, transformed by SV40 and expressing SV40 large T antigen (Tag), generate an autocrine-paracrine loop that may recruit SV40 Tag-negative cells into proliferation in SV40-associated human tumors. Thus, it is conceivable that not every cell in the tumor needs to express SV40 Tag in order to participate in tumor growth. 2. The two largest epidemiological studies on the incidence of brain tumors in poliovirus vaccinated individuals, carried out in the United States and in the former East Germany, were discontinued about 25 years ago[7] and 15 years ago,[8] respectively, just when a trend towards a greater incidence of certain brain tumors was observed in cohorts of vaccinated persons.

SV40 and human cancers

TOGNON, Mauro;MARTINI, Fernanda;CORALLINI, Alfredo;
2004

Abstract

An editorial by the Editor-in-Chief was recently published in this Journal[1] on the association of simian virus 40 (SV40) with specific types of human cancers: brain and bone tumors, lymphomas and mesotheliomas. While we agree with the author of the editorial that the association of SV40 with human tumors does not establish, at present, a causative link and that it is clearly premature to label SV40 as a human carcinogen, nevertheless we would like to point out some aspects of the topic that, in our opinion, have been omitted or not properly considered in the editorial. 1. The copy number of the SV40 genomes in human lymphoproliferative disorders and PBMC specimens was measured and was estimated, by semiquantitative PCR, to be between 10-4 and 10-2 genome equivalents per cell.[2] This result was confirmed by in situ hybridization experiments,[3] which detected 1 out of 250 cells positive for SV40 DNA in human lymphoblastoid B-cells, a value fitting the results of the previous analysis.[2] Recent contributions[4][5][6] have shown that human mesothelial cells, transformed by SV40 and expressing SV40 large T antigen (Tag), generate an autocrine-paracrine loop that may recruit SV40 Tag-negative cells into proliferation in SV40-associated human tumors. Thus, it is conceivable that not every cell in the tumor needs to express SV40 Tag in order to participate in tumor growth. 2. The two largest epidemiological studies on the incidence of brain tumors in poliovirus vaccinated individuals, carried out in the United States and in the former East Germany, were discontinued about 25 years ago[7] and 15 years ago,[8] respectively, just when a trend towards a greater incidence of certain brain tumors was observed in cohorts of vaccinated persons.
2004
Tognon, Mauro; Martini, Fernanda; Corallini, Alfredo; BARBANTI BRODANO, G.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11392/516700
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