Cloning and characterization of a papillomavirus associated with papillomas and carcinomas in the European harvest mouse (Micromys minutus)

Abstract

Individuals in a colony of European harvest mice (Micromys minutus) were diagnosed with a variety of skin tumors including papillomas, trichoepitheliomas, and sebaceous carcinomas. Papillomavirus group-specific antigens and viruslike particles were detected in the papillomas. A 7.6-kilobase supercoiled circular DNA, which was cleaved once by EcoRI, was visualized in papilloma extracts by low-stringency Southern blot hybridization with a bovine papillomavirus type 2 probe. The molecule was cloned in pUC18, and a restriction map was generated. The molecule was shown to be colinear with the genome of human papillomavirus type la by partial sequence analysis. The DNA hybridized to human papillomavirus type la, rabbit oral papillomavirus, and the genome of Mastomys nataknsis papillomavirus at Tm-33TC but not to the DNAs of 13 other papillomaviruses. Transformation of NIH 3T3 or C1271 cells by tail papilloma extracts or transfected viral DNA was not observed. All 17 tumors examined contained large amounts of viral DNA in a supercoiled, unintegrated form as revealed by Southern blot hybridization. Furthermore, many extracts (25 of 35) from normal organs and skin of individuals with lesions elsewhere on their bodies contained viral DNA. This represents the first reported molecular cloning of a papillomavirus genome from a mouse species.

Rodent Papillomaviruses

“…Initial efforts in characterizing MmiPV1 suggest that it is a cutaneous papillomavirus as no lesions were identified in any internal organs. The virus was found to be defective in transforming 3T3 and C127 cells [ 53 , 208 ]. The complete genome of MmiPV1 was sequenced fairly recently [ 52 ], making it possible to understand further the biology of this virus.…”

Novel Laboratory Mouse Papillomavirus (MusPV) Infection

“…24 All are large animals in the context of laboratory animal species. PVs are prevalent in many species and are known to infect wild species of rats and mice, 12,13,17,23,26,27 as well as other wild rodent species. 24 As such, laboratory mice should be naturally infected as well, but owing to the high levels of husbandry practiced by many institutions today, infectious diseases in mouse colonies are considered all but eliminated.…”

Intranuclear Inclusions in Renal Tubular Epithelium in Immunodeficient Mice Stain with Antibodies for Bovine Papillomavirus Type 1 L1 Protein

“…Rodent species with described papillomaviruses include Erethizon dorsatum [ 3 ], Mastomys coucha [ 19 ], Mesocricetus auratus [ 20 , 21 ], Micromys minutus [ 22 , 23 ], Mastomys natalensis [ 24 ], Mus musculus [ 20 , 25 , 26 , 27 ] It remains unlikely that the inclusions were caused by a murine papillomavirus as no other evidence of a murine papillomavirus infection was found.…”