Cytomegalovirus in Adenoma and Carcinoma Lesions: Detecting Mono-Infection and Co-Infection in Salivary Glands.

Salivary glands' neoplasms are hard to diagnose and present a complex etiology. However, several viruses have been detected in these neoplasms, such as HCMV, which can play a role in certain cancers through oncomodulation. The co-infections between HCMV with betaherpesviruses (HHV-6 and HHV-7) and polyomaviruses (JCV and BKV) has been investigated. The aim of the current study is to describe the frequency of HCMV and co-infections in patients presenting neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions, including in the salivary gland. Multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used for betaherpesvirus and polyomavirus quantification purposes after DNA extraction. In total, 50.7% of the 67 analyzed samples were mucocele, 40.3% were adenoma pleomorphic, and 8.9% were mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Overall, 20.9% of samples presented triple-infections with HCMV/HHV-6/HHV-7, whereas 9.0% were co-infections with HCMV/HHV-6 and HCMV/HHV-7. The largest number of co-infections was detected in pleomorphic adenoma cases. All samples tested negative for polyomaviruses, such as BKV and JCV. It was possible to conclude that HCMV can be abundant in salivary gland lesions. A high viral load can be useful to help better understand the etiological role played by viruses in these lesions. A lack of JCV and BKV in the samples analyzed herein does not rule out the involvement of these viruses in one or more salivary gland lesion subtypes.

Localization of hematopoietic cells in the bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus).

Amphibians represent the first phylogenetic group to possess hematopoietic bone marrow. However, adult amphibian hematopoiesis has only been described in a few species and with conflicting data. Bone marrow, kidney, spleen, liver, gut, stomach, lung, tegument, and heart were therefore collected from adult Lithobates catesbeianus and investigated by light microscopy and immunohistochemical methods under confocal laser microscopy. Our study demonstrated active hematopoiesis in the bone marrow of vertebrae, femur, and fingers and in the kidney, but no hematopoietic activity inside other organs including the spleen and liver. Blood cells were identified as a heterogeneous cell population constituted by heterophils, basophils, eosinophils, monocytes, erythrocytic cells, lymphocytes, and their precursors. Cellular islets of the thrombocytic lineage occurred near sinusoids of the bone marrow. Antibodies against CD34, CD117, stem cell antigen, erythropoietin receptor, and the receptor for granulocyte colony-stimulating factor identified some cell populations, and some circulating immature cells were seen in the bloodstream. Thus, on the basis of these phylogenetic features, we propose that L. catesbeianus can be used as an important model for hematopoietic studies, since this anuran exhibits hematopoiesis characteristics both of lower vertebrates (renal hematopoiesis) and of higher vertebrates (bone marrow hematopoiesis).