Poltermann S, Schlehofer B, Steindorf K, Schnitzler P, Geletneky K, Schlehofer J R
Unit of Environmental Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
J Neurovirol. 2006 Apr;12(2):90-9. doi: 10.1080/13550280600654573.
Gliomas are the most frequent primary brain tumors in humans. Many studies have been carried out on their etiology; however, the only confirmed risk factors are hereditary predisposing conditions and high dose of ionizing radiation. Recently, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) gene products and nucleic acids were reported to be present in all of 27 glioma samples investigated in contrast to other brain tissues, and it was hypothesized that HCMV might play a role in glioma pathogenesis. To evaluate these findings, samples of 40 gliomas, 31 meningiomas, and 6 acoustic neurinomas (ACNs) were analyzed for the presence of HCMV macromolecules using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemistry. Additionally, corresponding blood samples from 72 patients were analyzed for the presence of HCMV DNA to check for a possible contamination of tumor tissues with HCMV-infected blood cells. No HCMV DNA sequences were found, neither in brain tumor tissues nor in corresponding blood samples. Immunohistochemistry did not detect HCMV-specific proteins. Addressing a possible role of other herpesviruses as has been suggested in seroepidemiological studies, seroprevalence of antibodies to HCMV, herpes simplex virus (HSV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Serological analyses of brain tumor patients showed no significant differences in the prevalences of antibodies to HCMV, HSV, EBV, or VZV compared to the general population. Thus, the data of the present study do not support the hypothesis of an association of herpesviruses with the development of primary brain tumors.
神经胶质瘤是人类最常见的原发性脑肿瘤。关于其病因已经开展了许多研究；然而，唯一得到确认的风险因素是遗传易感性条件和高剂量电离辐射。最近，据报道，在27份接受调查的神经胶质瘤样本中均存在人巨细胞病毒（HCMV）基因产物和核酸，而其他脑组织则不然，据此推测HCMV可能在神经胶质瘤发病机制中发挥作用。为评估这些发现，采用聚合酶链反应（PCR）和免疫组织化学方法，对40例神经胶质瘤、31例脑膜瘤和6例听神经瘤（ACN）样本进行分析，以检测HCMV大分子的存在情况。此外，对72例患者的相应血液样本进行分析，检测HCMV DNA的存在情况，以检查肿瘤组织是否可能被HCMV感染的血细胞污染。在脑肿瘤组织和相应血液样本中均未发现HCMV DNA序列。免疫组织化学未检测到HCMV特异性蛋白。正如血清流行病学研究中所提示的，为探讨其他疱疹病毒可能发挥的作用，采用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）法测定针对HCMV、单纯疱疹病毒（HSV）、爱泼斯坦-巴尔病毒（EBV）和水痘-带状疱疹病毒（VZV）的抗体血清流行率。脑肿瘤患者的血清学分析显示，与普通人群相比，针对HCMV、HSV、EBV或VZV的抗体流行率无显著差异。因此，本研究数据不支持疱疹病毒与原发性脑肿瘤发生存在关联的假说。
