Abstract
BackgroundThe recent discovery of the Merkel cell polyomavirus and its consistent association with Merkel cell carcinoma has drawn attention to the numerous recently discovered polyomaviruses and their possible involvement in the etiopathogenesis of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). Data on the recently discovered human polyomavirus 6 (HPyV6) and its role in NMSC are sparse and in part controversial.MethodsIn the present study we tested a large number (n = 299) of NMSC specimens for the presence of human polyomavirus 6 (HPyV6) by DNA PCR and HPyV6 fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). In detail, 59 keratoacanthomas (KA), 109 basal cell carcinomas (BCC), 86 squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and 45 trichoblastomas (TB) were tested for the presence of HPyV6.ResultsHPyV6 DNA PCR and subsequent sequence analysis revealed that 25 KAs (42.3 %), 23 BCCs (21.1 %), 8 SCCs (9.3 %) and 10 TBs (22.2 %) were HPyV6 positive. The presence of HPyV6 DNA was visualized and validated on the single cell level within the histomorphological context by HPyV6 fluorescence in situ hybridization.ConclusionsThe high frequency of HPyV6 DNA in 42.3 % of KA possibly points to a role for HPyV6 in the etiopathogenesis of KAs. Although the detection rate of HPyV6 DNA in BCCs and TBs is within the previously reported detection range in normal skin, it does not exclude a possible role for HPyV6 in the carcinogenesis in a significant subset of these skin tumors.
Highlights
The recent discovery of the Merkel cell polyomavirus and its consistent association with Merkel cell carcinoma has drawn attention to the numerous recently discovered polyomaviruses and their possible involvement in the etiopathogenesis of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC)
human polyomavirus 6 (HPyV6)-DNA PCR The DNA quality and integrity of extracted genomic DNA was assessed by specimen control size (SCS) ladder analysis (Fig. 1a) as described earlier [29]
All samples included in this study revealed sufficient DNA quality in order to test for HPyV6 by DNA PCR (Fig. 1a)
Summary
The recent discovery of the Merkel cell polyomavirus and its consistent association with Merkel cell carcinoma has drawn attention to the numerous recently discovered polyomaviruses and their possible involvement in the etiopathogenesis of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). No conclusive data for a role of the continuously growing number of human polyomaviruses in NMSC are available Ever since their first detection, HPyV have repeatedly been incriminated with the etiopathogenesis of human cancers. Only the recently discovered Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) has been identified as a new human tumor virus which is based on the consistent detection of integrated MCPyV DNA in the majority of Merkel cell carcinomas (MCC), a highly malignant NMSC [10,11,12]. Tumor specific mutations within the large T antigen (LTag) of MCPyV are found in MCCs [13]
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