Bovine leukemia virus presence in breast tissue of Argentinian women. Its association with cell proliferation and prognosis markers

LENDEZ PA; MARTINEZ CUESTA L; NIETO FARÍAS MV; MIN SHEN H; DOLCINI GL; BUEHRING GC; CERIANI MC

Multidisciplinary Cancer Investigation

ACECR

Lugar: Teheran; Año: 2018 vol. 4 p. 16 - 24

2476-4922

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) causes enzootic bovine leukemia, and is closely related to 17 human T-lymphotropic virus type 1. It expresses microRNAs of unknown function and codes Tax, 18 the protein that mediates malignant transformation. BLV is capable of infecting B- and T-19 lymphocytes, endothelial cells, and mammary epithelial cells of cattle. Several studies demonstrated 20 the presence of DNA BLV in human tissue, and it is significantly associated with breast cancer in 21 case-control studies using in situ PCR, a highly sensitive and specific technique. 22The current study was the first report of BLV DNA detection by in situ PCR in tissue from 23 Argentinian females with a diagnosis of breast cancer. BLV DNA presence could be determined in 24 22.6% of the analyzed samples, and its presence was associated with an increase of the expression 25 and prognosis markers Ki67 (P =0.009) and HER-2 (Chi-square test, P-value= 0.044) determined 26 by conventional immunohistochemistry. No statistical significance was observed between the 27 presence or absence of hormonal receptors and the presence of BLV DNA. 28The obtained results supported the idea that BLV might play a role in malignant tissue 29 transformation. 30 31Keywords: Bovine Leukemia Virus; Human Breast