Intratonsillar detection of 27 distinct viruses: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract

Palatine tonsils have been observed to harbor several distinct respiratory and herpesviruses in separate studies. In this study, the presence of these viruses in palatine tonsils was comprehensively studied in both children and adults. A cross‐sectional analysis of 181 patients (median age 22 years; range, 2.6‐66) operated for a benign tonsillar disease was conducted. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction was performed to detect 27 distinct viruses in all: eight human herpesviruses, 16 respiratory viruses, parvo B19, and polyoma BK/JC viruses. Clinical characteristics of the patients and underlying conditions were evaluated. In total, 92% of patients had virus detected in tonsils (Epstein‐Barr virus 72%, human herpesvirus 7, and 6B 54% and 16%, respectively, enterovirus 18%, parvovirus B19 7% and the rest <4%). No herpes simplex virus 2, varicella zoster virus, polyoma JC virus, parainfluenza‐, metapneumo‐, or coronaviruses were found. Enterovirus was more common in children and was frequently observed in the presence of HHV6B. None of the viruses showed a positive association to the tonsillar disease. Respiratory symptoms were not associated with the prevalence of viruses. This study comprehensively reports a cross‐sectional view of intratonsillar virus infections in elective tonsillectomy patients in a wide age range cohort. Tonsils are a major virus reservoir for distinct herpes and respiratory viruses without a positive association with tonsillar disease or respiratory symptoms.

Persistent human bocavirus 1 infection and tonsillar immune responses

“…HBoV1 DNA was detected by PCR in tonsil and/or NPA samples in 17% of the study patients; the prevalence in the tonsil tissue samples was 8%. This is in line with earlier studies 9,12 . Furthermore, HBoV infections are most prevalent in small children, showing prolonged virus shedding in the nasopharynx after acute infection, whereas they become less common with age 24 .…”

“…In‐house real‐time PCRs were used as described for HBoV1, enterovirus, rhinovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus 20–22 . Primer sequences of HBoV1 have been previously described 9 . Seeplex RV12 ACE Detection (Seegene, Seoul, Korea) multiplex PCR assay was applied for adenovirus, coronaviruses (229 E/NL63 and OC43/HKU1), influenza A and B viruses, metapneumovirus, parainfluenza virus types 1–3, respiratory syncytial virus groups A and B, and rhinovirus, according to manufacturer’s instructions.…”

“…Tonsils in the oropharynx are in contact with inhaled and ingested allergens and pathogens. Viral infection detected by PCR is a common finding in tonsil tissue of routine tonsillectomy patients 9 . The prevalence of HBoV1 DNA in fairly asymptomatic tonsillectomy patients suffering chronic tonsillar disease has been 4%–27% in the tonsil tissue and 11%–18% in the nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA) samples 6,9–13 .…”

The investigation of bacterial adhesion of palatine tonsils epithelial cells in patient with infectious mononucleosis

“…Clustering of integrin receptors causes aggregation of the caveolae, resulting in large invaginations of the plasma membrane, which are then colonized by streptococci [20]. Some streptococci, using M-protein-bound fibronectin, induce focal adhesion complexes and penetrate the cell membrane by one of two mechanisms -zipper-like mechanism or membrane ruffling [21]. The first mechanism directs streptococci to a safer cavernous-somatic compartment of the cell, and the second directs bacteria to phagolysosomes, where most of them are destroyed.…”

Can secondary lymphoid organs exert a favorable effect on the mild course of COVID-19 in children?

“…But, it should be added that there was no difference in virus detection between groups at the intratonsillar level in the same study [ 18 ]. In a recent cross-sectional study in which pediatric and adult patients undergoing tonsillectomy were included (mean age 22), it was shown that no virus was shown to be associated with tonsil diseases and respiratory diseases [ 19 ]. The wide age range of the study may be associated with this result.…”