Prevalence and significance of human parvovirus variants in skin from primary cutaneous T cell lymphomas, inflammatory dermatoses and healthy subjects

Arch Dermatol Res. 2009 Oct;301(9):647-52. doi: 10.1007/s00403-009-0954-6. Epub 2009 Apr 22.

Abstract

Primary cutaneous T cell lymphomas (CTCL) represent a heterogeneous group of T lymphomas. Virus involvement in CTCL pathogenesis has been extensively investigated, but no data are available as to a causative role of parvovirus B19. The prevalence of parvovirus variants (B19, LaL1/K71, V9) was investigated by using two nested PCRs and a genotype-2 semiquantitative PCR (Q-PCR). Parvovirus DNA was detected in similar percentage in healthy skin controls (40%; n = 42), inflammatory dermatoses (ID) (41%; n = 80) and CTCL (34%; n = 76). Among variants, genotype-2 was more prevalent in ID (26%) and CTCL (22%) than in normal skin (14%; p < 0.05). genotype-3 was never found in normal skin and was rare in ID. The only four pathological skin samples with a quantifiable genome copies/mug DNA values in Q-PCR were ID. In conclusion, despite the skin represent a reservoir for genotype-1, parvovirus infection is not involved in the etiopathogenesis of CTCL.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • DNA, Viral / analysis
  • Dermatitis / virology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous / virology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Parvoviridae Infections / complications*
  • Parvoviridae Infections / diagnosis
  • Parvovirus B19, Human / genetics
  • Parvovirus B19, Human / isolation & purification*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Skin / virology*
  • Skin Neoplasms / virology*

Substances

  • DNA, Viral