Absence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I and human foamy virus in thymoma

Date
2004-06
Language
English
Embargo Lift Date
Committee Members
Degree
Degree Year
Department
Grantor
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Found At
Springer
Abstract

The cause of thymoma, a rare malignancy of thymic epithelial cells, is unknown. Recent studies have reported the detection of DNA from human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) and human foamy virus (HFV) in small numbers of thymoma tumours, suggesting an aetiologic role for these retroviruses. In the present study, we evaluated 21 US thymoma patients and 20 patients with other cancers for evidence of infection with these viruses. We used the polymerase chain reaction to attempt to amplify viral DNA from tumour tissues, using primers from the pol and tax (HTLV-I) and gag and bel1 (HFV) regions. In these experiments, we did not detect HTLV-I or HFV DNA sequences in any thymoma or control tissues, despite adequate sensitivity of our assays (one HTLV-I copy per 25 000 cells, one HFV copy per 7500 cells). Additionally, none of 14 thymoma patients evaluated serologically for HTLV I/II infection was positive by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA), while five (36%) had indeterminate Western blot reactivity. In comparison, one of 20 US blood donors was HTLV-I/II ELISA positive, and nine (45%) donors, including the ELISA-positive donor, had indeterminate Western blot reactivity. Western blot patterns varied across individuals and consisted mostly of weak reactivity. In conclusion, we did not find evidence for the presence of HTLV-I or HFV in US thymoma patients.

Description
item.page.description.tableofcontents
item.page.relation.haspart
Cite As
Li, H., Loehrer, P. J., Hisada, M., Henley, J., Whitby, D., & Engels, E. A. (2004). Absence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I and human foamy virus in thymoma. British Journal of Cancer, 90(11), 2181–2185. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjc.6601841
ISSN
1532-1827
Publisher
Series/Report
Sponsorship
Major
Extent
Identifier
Relation
Journal
British Journal of Cancer
Source
Publisher
Alternative Title
Type
Article
Number
Volume
Conference Dates
Conference Host
Conference Location
Conference Name
Conference Panel
Conference Secretariat Location
Version
Final published version
Full Text Available at
This item is under embargo {{howLong}}