Simian virus 40 large T antigen (SV40LTAg) primer specific DNA amplification in human pleural mesothelioma tissue

Our plain-English summary of Simian virus 40 large T antigen (SV40LTAg) primer specific DNA amplification in human pleural mesothelioma tissue, by C. Pepper, B. Jasani, H. Navabi, et al (Thorax, 1996).

The study

• Authors: C. Pepper, B. Jasani, H. Navabi, D. Wynford-Thomas, A.R. Gibbs
• Journal: Thorax
• Published: 1996;51(11):1074-6
• Cited by: 103 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Background: DNA sequences and immunoreactivity associated with Simian virus 40 transforming factors, large T and small t antigens (SV40LTAg), suggestive of an aetiopathogenetic link have been identified in fresh frozen tissue of a high proportion of recent cases of pleural mesotheliomas from the United States, Italy and Germany. SV40 is not normally infective in man though it can transform human cells in tissue culture. A large cohort of people in the western world was accidentally parenterally inoculated with live SV40 through contaminated polio vaccines given between 1959 and 1961, and this might be a factor in the current continuing rise in the incidence of mesothelioma in the United States, Britain and Europe. The present study investigated the presence of SV40LTAg DNA in recently diagnosed cases of mesothelioma in Britain and the feasibility of detecting the SV40 DNA in archival tissue for retrospective analysis of cases in the peri-vaccination period.

Methods: DNA was extracted from fresh frozen and/or rehydrated formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissue sections from nine recently diagnosed cases of mesothelioma, nine cases of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, and three reactive pleurae, and amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the primer pairs used previously on fresh frozen tissues-namely, the SV primer set directed at the LTAg gene sequence unique to SV40 and the PYV primer set directed at a sequence shared by SV40 and papovavirus strains BK and JC, respectively.

Results: PCR positivity with the SV primer set was restricted to four of the nine cases of mesothelioma. In contrast, six of the nine mesotheliomas, two of the nine adenocarcinomas, and one of the three reactive pleurae showed positivity with the PYV primers. The fresh frozen and corresponding formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissue results concorded well with each other.

Conclusions: Our data provide evidence for the association of SV40LTAg primer specific DNA with human pulmonary mesothelioma in the British population.

In plain English

This short laboratory study, published as a rapid communication, looked for DNA from Simian virus 40 (SV40), a monkey virus, in tissue from British patients. The authors tested tissue from nine recently diagnosed cases of mesothelioma, nine cases of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, and three samples of reactive (non-cancerous) pleura, using a DNA amplification method called the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). They used two sets of test primers. The SV set targets a stretch of DNA unique to SV40. The broader PYV set also detects the related BK and JC viruses. The SV40-specific test was positive in four of the nine mesotheliomas, and the broader test was positive in six of the nine (67%). None of the other tissues were positive for SV40-related DNA. The broader test, however, was positive in one of the three reactive pleurae and two of the nine adenocarcinomas. Positive results were reproducible on separate DNA extracts. Results from frozen and from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue agreed well. The article did not report the patients' asbestos exposure. The authors concluded that their data provide evidence for an association of SV40-specific DNA with mesothelioma in the British population.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Laboratory study (rapid communication) testing tissue samples for SV40 DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
• Who was studied: Tissue from British patients: nine recently diagnosed cases of mesothelioma, nine cases of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, and three reactive pleurae, plus a laboratory SV40-transfected human thyroid cell preparation used as a positive control
• Exposure: Presence of Simian virus 40 large T antigen (SV40LTAg) DNA, detected with SV primers (unique to SV40) and PYV primers (shared by SV40 and the BK and JC papovaviruses); the patients' asbestos exposure was not reported
• Main results:
  • Mesotheliomas: SV40-specific DNA amplification in 4 of 9; positivity with the broad-spectrum PYV primer set in 6 of 9 (67%)
  • Non-mesothelioma tissues: none positive for SV40-related DNA; PYV primer set amplification in 1 of 3 reactive pleural specimens and 2 of 9 adenocarcinomas
  • Positive PCR results were reproducible on repeat analysis of separate DNA extracts
  • Results from fresh frozen tissue and from the corresponding formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue agreed well
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that their data provide evidence for an association of SV40LTAg primer-specific DNA with human mesothelioma in the British population

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Mesothelioma, SV40, Mesothelioma, Adenocarcinoma.

Related studies

• Human mesotheliomas contain the simian virus-40 regulatory region and large tumor antigen DNA sequences — H.I. Pass, J.S. Donington, et al. (1998)
• Simian virus-40 large-T antigen binds p53 in human mesotheliomas — M. Carbone, P. Rizzo, et al. (1997)
• The retinoblastoma gene family pRb/p105, p107, pRb2/p130 and simian virus-40 large T-antigen in human mesotheliomas — A. De Luca, A. Baldi, et al. (1997)
• Human T cell responses to endogenously presented HLA-A*0201 restricted peptides of Simian virus 40 large T antigen — M.P. Velders, M.F. Macedo, et al. (2001)
• SV40 large T-antigen and human pleural mesothelioma. Screening by polymerase chain reaction and tyramine-amplified immunohistochemistry — K. Dhaene, A. Verhulst, et al. (1999)
• Expression of p21 in SV40 large T antigen positive human pleural mesothelioma: relationship with survival — A. Baldi, A.M. Groeger, et al. (2002)

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