Detection of human cytomegalovirus in tumor tissue and peripheral blood samples of patients with gliomas

Gliomas are the most common primary central nervous system (CNS) neoplasms in humans. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has been described to be associated with gliomas, though the exact mechanisms of HCMV in oncogenesis are unclear. In this study, the investigation of detecting HCMV in the tumor tissues and peripheral blood of patients with newly diagnosed gliomas were performed to enrich medical knowledge about the role of HCMV in gliomas oncogenesis. The results confirmed that HCMV IE-72 was detectable in 30 of 39 gliomas and pp65 tegument protein was detectable in 26 of 39 (66.7%) gliomas. HCMV DNA was found in 64.1% (25/39) tumor samples and in 51.3% (20/39) peripheral blood samples by using a nested PCR analysis with primers specific for the HCMV UL55 gene region. HCMV DNA copy load of tumor tissues and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was determined by using a Real-time PCR analysis with primers specific for HCMV UL123 gene region. The median log10 HCMV DNA copy load in glioma tissues was 3.75±1.60 per 500 ng of total DNA, which is higher than in peripheral blood (2.88±1.20 per 500 ng of total DNA). HCMV pp65 antigenemia is absence in all patients. In 39 glioma patients, 36 (92.3%) were positive for anti-HCMV IgG antibodies and 7 (17.9%) were positive for anti-HCMV IgM antibodies. These findings support previous reports of the presence of HCMV infection in glioma tissues. HCMV local infection may play an active role in glioma development and pathogenesis.