Simian virus 40 transformation, malignant mesothelioma and brain tumors

Abstract

Simian virus 40 (SV40) is a DNA virus isolated in 1960 from contaminated polio vaccines, that induces mesotheliomas, lymphomas, brain and bone tumors, and sarcomas, including osteosarcomas, in hamsters. These same tumor types have been found to contain SV40 DNA and proteins in humans. Mesotheliomas and brain tumors are the two tumor types that have been most consistently associated with SV40, and the range of positivity has varied about from 6 to 60%, although a few reported 100% of positivity and a few reported 0%. It appears unlikely that SV40 infection alone is sufficient to cause human malignancy, as we did not observe an epidemic of cancers following the administration of SV40-contaminated vaccines. However, it seems possible that SV40 may act as a cofactor in the pathogenesis of some tumors. In vitro and animal experiments showing cocarcinogenicity between SV40 and asbestos support this hypothesis.

Keywords::

• brain tumor
• malignant mesothelioma
• SV40
• Tag
• tag
• transformation

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work presented here was supported by the NCI R01 and P01 and the UH Foundation (to Michele Carbone), the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation and the Riviera United-4 a CURE (to Haining Yang) and the Hawaii Community Foundation (to Haining Yang and to Giovanni Gaudino). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.