Prevalence of HMTV in breast carcinomas and unaffected tissue from Mexican women.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is a complex multifactorial genetic disease. Among other factors, race and, to an even greater extent, viruses are known to influence the development of this heterogeneous disease. It has been reported that MMTV-like (HMTV) gene sequences with a 90 to 98% homology to mouse mammary tumor virus are found in several populations with a prevalence range of 0 to 74%. In the Mexican population, 4.2% of patients with breast cancer exhibit the presence of HMTV (MMTV-like) sequences. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence and current prevalence of retroviral HMTV (MMTV-like) sequences in breast cancer in Mexican women. METHODS: We used nested PCR and real-time PCR with a TaqMan probe. As a positive control, we used the C3H MMTV strain inserted into pBR322 plasmid. To confirm that we had identified the HMTV sequences, we sequenced the amplicons and compared these sequences with those of MMTV and HMTV (GenBank AF033807 and AF346816). RESULTS: A total of 12.4% of breast tumors were HMTV-positive, and 15.7% of the unaffected tissue samples from 458 patients were HMTV-positive. A total of 8.3% of the patients had both HMTV-positive tumor and adjacent tissues. The HMTV-positive samples presented 98% similarity to the reported HMTV sequence. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm that the HMTV sequence is present in breast tumors and non-affected tissues in the Mexican population. HMTV should be considered a prominent causative agent of breast cancer.

Isolation and Identification of Naegleria Species in Irrigation Channels for Recreational Use in Mexicali Valley, Mexico.

Members of the genus Naegleria are free-living amoebae that are widely distributed in water and soil environments. Moreover, Naegleria fowleri is a pathogenic amoeba species that causes a fatal disease in the central nervous system known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) in humans. Since most reported infections due to N. fowleri are reported in recreational waters worldwide, this study was aimed to describe the presence of these amoebic genus in Mexicali Valley irrigation channels of recreational use. A total of nine water samples were collected and processed by triplicate, in nine different sites of the Valley. After filtering and culturing the samples, plates were examined, and the observed amoebae were morphologically identified at the genus level. In addition, the pathogenicity of these amoebic isolates was checked, and molecular characterization was performed by PCR/sequencing. The results revealed the presence of Naegleria spp. in all the channels sampled. Finally, molecular identification confirmed the presence of five different species of Naegleria: N. fowleri, N. australiensis, N. gruberi, N. clarki and N. pagei. The presence of these protists, particularly N. fowleri, should be considered as a potential human health risk in the region.