Serological evidence of vertical transmission of JC and BK polyomaviruses in humans

Vertical transmission of JC virus and BK virus has been investigated by few authors, with conflicting results. We performed a combined serological and genomic study of 19 unselected pregnant women and their newborns. Blood and urine samples were collected during each gestational trimester from the pregnant women. Umbilical cord blood, peripheral blood, urine and nasopharyngeal secretion samples were taken from newborns at delivery and after 1 week and 1 month of life. Polyomavirus DNA was detected by nested PCR. Polyomavirus IgG-, IgM- and IgA-specific antibodies were measured in maternal and newborn serum samples using a virus-like-particle-based ELISA method. BKV and JCV DNA were detected in urine from 4 (21 %) and 5 (26 %) women, respectively. BKV and JCV seroprevalences in the pregnant women were 84 % and 42 %, respectively. Using a rise in the IgG level or the transient appearance of an IgA or IgM response as evidence of infection in the newborn, we detected BKV and JCV infections in four (21 %) and three (16 %) newborns, respectively. Three infants had serological evidence of infection with both BKV and JCV. In two of the four possible BKV-infected newborns, the mothers seroconverted during pregnancy, while another mother was viruric and IgA seropositive. The mother of one of the three possible JCV-infected newborns was viruric and IgA seropositive; another mother was viruric. These results suggest JC virus and BK virus can be transmitted from mother to newborn during pregnancy or soon after birth

Chronic Viral Infection and Primary Central Nervous System Malignancy

Primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors cause significant morbidity and mortality in both adults and children. While some of the genetic and molecular mechanisms of neuro-oncogenesis are known, much less is known about possible epigenetic contributions to disease pathophysiology. Over the last several decades, chronic viral infections have been associated with a number of human malignancies. In primary CNS malignancies, two families of viruses, namely polyomavirus and herpesvirus, have been detected with varied frequencies in a number of pediatric and adult histological tumor subtypes. However, establishing a link between chronic viral infection and primary CNS malignancy has been an area of considerable controversy, due in part to variations in detection frequencies and methodologies used among researchers. Since a latent viral neurotropism can be seen with a variety of viruses and a widespread seropositivity exists among the population, it has been difficult to establish an association between viral infection and CNS malignancy based on epidemiology alone. While direct evidence of a role of viruses in neuro-oncogenesis in humans is lacking, a more plausible hypothesis of neuro-oncomodulation has been proposed. The overall goals of this review are to summarize the many human investigations that have studied viral infection in primary CNS tumors, discuss potential neuro-oncomodulatory mechanisms of viral-associated CNS disease and propose future research directions to establish a more firm association between chronic viral infections and primary CNS malignancies

A rare urinary JC virus reactivation after long-term therapy with rituximab

Abstract The possible role of JC virus in determining urinary tract involvement has only recently been recognized. The case of a man with laboratory-confirmed JC virus replication in the urine after a maintenance schedule of rituximab administered for a lymphoproliferative disorder is reported herein. The patient developed severe renal and urinary tract impairment, characterized by the onset of nephropathy, bilateral ureteral strictures, and a serious reduction in vesical compliance, ultimately requiring an ileal neobladder configuration. The renal and urinary tract involvement was finally attributed to JC virus reactivation. This observation suggests that renal and urinary tract diseases related to JC virus might be associated with long-term rituximab treatment

Detection of human neurotropic JCPyV DNA sequence in pediatric anaplastic xanthoastrocytoma

Due to its peculiar histopathological findings, pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA), a rare cerebral tumor of young adults with a slow growth and a good prognosis, resembles to the lytic phase of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by JC polyomavirus (JCPyV). Therefore, the presence of JCPyV DNA was examined in an 11-year-old child with xanthoastrocytoma, WHO grade 3, by quantitative PCR (qPCR) and nested PCR (nPCR) using primers amplifying sequences encoding the N- and C-terminal region of large T antigen (LTAg), the non-coding control region (NCCR), and viral protein 1 (VP1) DNA. The expression of transcripts from LTAg and VP1 genes was also evaluated. In addition, viral microRNAs’ (miRNAs) expression was investigated. Cellular p53 was also searched at both DNA and RNA level. qPCR revealed the presence of JCPyV DNA with a mean value of 6.0× 104 gEq/mL. nPCR gave a positive result for the 5ʹ region of the LTAg gene and the NCCR, whereas 3ʹ end LTAg and VP1 DNA sequences were not amplifiable. Only LTAg transcripts of 5ʹ end were found whereas VP1 gene transcript was undetectable. Although in most cases, either Mad-1 or Mad-4 NCCRs have been identified in association with JCPyV-positive human brain neoplasms, the archetype NCCR structure was observed in the patient’s sample. Neither viral miRNA miR-J1-5p nor p53 DNA and RNA were detected. Although the expression of LTAg supports the possible role of JCPyV in PXA, further studies are warranted to better understand whether the genesis of xanthoastrocytoma could depend on the transformation capacity of LTAg by Rb sequestration

Le xanthoastrocytome pleomorphe anaplasique - A propos d’un cas

We report a case of anaplastic pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma occurred in a male of 13 years, who presented a syndrom of intracranial hypertension for a year and a half. CT-scan and MRI revealed a cystic and solid tumor in the left parietal lobe. The surgical resection was total. Histopathological examination demonstrated a pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma with malignant transformation. Seven months later, the patient has a  deterioration of his general condition, the CT revealed a tumor recurrence, which was reoperated. The patient died a few days after surgery. This rare case of anaplastic pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma is presented, discussed and illustrated in this paper.Nous rapportons un cas de xanthoastrocytome pléomorphe anaplasique chez un garçon de 13 ans. Il présentait un syndrome d’hypertension intracrânienne depuis un an et demi. L’imagerie a visualisé une lésion à double composante kystique et charnue de localisation pariétale gauche. L’exérèse chirurgicale a été totale. L’examen histologique a revélé un xanthoastrocytome pléomorphe anaplasique. Sept mois plus tard, le patient a présenté une altération de l’état général, et le scanner  encéphalique a montré une récidive tumorale qui a été réopérée. Le patient est décédé quelques jours après l’intervention

Role of the interaction between large T antigen and Rb family members in the oncogenicity of JC virus

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Gerenciamento de Projetos: Comparativo Bibliométrico dos Anais de Congressos Brasileiros na Área de Administração e Engenharia de Produção

This paper examined the scientific production on the subject of Project Management from period 2004 to 2014. The unit of analysis is composed of articles published in the Brazilian annals of the Meeting of the National Association of Graduate Studies and Research in Administration (EnANPAD) and the Meeting of the National Production Engineering (ENEGEP) in the last 11 years. The results show that the theoretical focus is in the discussion of how the fundamentals of project management are used by practitioners, because of the sub-theme of greatest interest identified in this study was the ‘Application of Practices’, followed by the sub-theme ‘Tools and Techniques’. The paper also points out that the research agenda has Brazilian researchers regularly and frequently in the theme, which depict the project management function of typical and unique variables in Brazil. Depending on the most cited references in the articles analyzed, confirms the importance of the journals referenced in accordance with the classification CAPES WebQualis and presence in SCOPUS Journal Metrics database with the indices Impact per Publication (IPP) and SCImago Journal Rank (JRS). Finally, it appears that there is little interest in project management studies by Brazilian researchers.Este artigo analisou a produção científica no tema do Gerenciamento de Projetos no período de 2004 a 2014. A unidade de análise é constituída por artigos publicados nos anais do Encontro da Associação Nacional de Pós-graduação e Pesquisa em Administração (EnANPAD) e do Encontro Nacional de Engenharia de Produção (ENEGEP) nos últimos onze anos. Os resultados apontam que o foco teórico está na discussão de como os fundamentos do gerenciamento de projetos são utilizados pelos praticantes, pois o subtema de maior interesse identificado neste estudo foi a ‘Aplicação das Práticas’, seguido do subtema ‘Ferramentas e Técnicas’. O artigo também destaca que a agenda de pesquisa possui pesquisadores brasileiros regulares e frequentes na temática, os quais retratam o gerenciamento de projetos em função das variáveis típicas e exclusivas do Brasil. Em função das referências bibliográficas mais citadas nos artigos analisados, confirma-se a relevância dos periódicos referenciados de acordo com a classificação CAPES WebQualis e presença na base de dados SCOPUS Journal Metrics com os índices Impact per Publication (IPP) e SCImago Journal Rank (SJR). Por fim, constata-se que existe pouco interesse nos estudos em gerenciamento de projetos pelos pesquisadores brasileiros

Review on the role of the human Polyomavirus JC in the development of tumors

Almost one fifth of human cancers worldwide are associated with infectious agents, either bacteria or viruses, and this makes the possible association between infections and tumors a relevant research issue. We focused our attention on the human Polyomavirus JC (JCPyV), that is a small, naked DNA virus, belonging to the Polyomaviridae family. It is the recognized etiological agent of the Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML), a fatal demyelinating disease, occurring in immunosuppressed individuals. JCPyV is able to induce cell transformation in vitro when infecting non-permissive cells, that do not support viral replication and JCPyV inoculation into small animal models and non human primates drives to tumor formation. The molecular mechanisms involved in JCPyV oncogenesis have been extensively studied: the main oncogenic viral protein is the large tumor antigen (T-Ag), that is able to bind, among other cellular factors, both Retinoblastoma protein (pRb) and p53 and to dysregulate the cell cycle, but also the early proteins small tumor antigen (t-Ag) and Agnoprotein appear to cooperate in the process of cell transformation. Consequently, it is not surprising that JCPyV genomic sequences and protein expression have been detected in Central Nervous System (CNS) tumors and colon cancer and an association between this virus and several brain and non CNS-tumors has been proposed. However, the significances of these findings are under debate because there is still insufficient evidence of a casual association between JCPyV and solid cancer development. In this paper we summarized and critically analyzed the published literature, in order to describe the current knowledge on the possible role of JCPyV in the development of human tumor