Abstract

The comments of Tognon and Barbanti-Brodano are very much appreciated. It was not the intention of my Editorial to present “the problem of the association of SV40 with human tumors…in its entire complexity”, but to point out some of the existing contradictions that remain to be resolved. In the 1970s and up to 1982 a number of publications reported the presence of Herpes simplex viral DNA or RNA in human tumors or documented Herpes simplex Type 2 proteins in cervical cancer material. These reports could not take into account the existing partial homology between herpes simplex DNA sequences and human DNA, published in several subsequent reports.1, 2, 3, 4 Existing homologies between SV40 and host cell DNA were recently published by Martini et al.5 The presence of 97% homology of 373 bp at the COOH-terminal and of 145 bp at the NH2-terminal of SV40 Tag with telomeric sequences of human chromosomes 10 and 11 should be considered as a word of caution to many of the positive reports published previously. If SV40 DNA is present in 37–44% of primary brain tumors, 21–37% of bone tumors, 29% of buffy coats of blood donors,5 and in 42–43% of non-Hodgkin-lymphoma biopsies,6, 7 this could imply a major role of this virus in human infections and possibly also in human malignancies. Thus, the groups reporting positive findings should be able to publish conditions that render their data reproducible in other laboratories familiar with molecular biological techniques. An increasing number of serological studies fail to show a significant rate of SV40 infections in human populations or to point to a relationship between SV40 infections and human tumors.8, 9, 10, 11, 12 They contrast 3 positive reports published in 1998 and 1999.13, 14, 15 Other serological analyses, not taking into account existing cross-reactivity between SV40 proteins and those of the common human polyomaviruses BK and JC, are worthless in my opinion and confuse more than clarify the existing situation. Thus, numerous questions are still open. Indeed, we need to “impartially consider both negative and positive results”. Harald zur Hausen

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