Torque Teno virus DNA is found in the intracranial aneurysm wall—Is there a causative role?

Abstract

ObjectiveTorque Teno virus (TTV) is a recently discovered virus with high prevalence worldwide, that has been associated with vascular diseases. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of TTV molecular DNA in the intracranial aneurysm (IA) artery walls.MethodSamples of IA walls were collected after microsurgical clipping from 35 patients with IA (22 ruptured/13 unruptured cases). The samples were submitted to molecular DNA extraction using the EasyMag automatized extractor and performed with Qiagen DNA extraction Minikit 250. The samples underwent PCR examination with primers for β-globin as internal control using the Nanodrop® 2000 spectrophotometer. A quantitative (real-time) PCR with TTV-specific primers was performed. Clinical and radiological data of patients included was collected.ResultsTTV was detected in 15 (42.85%) cases, being 10 (45.4%) ruptured and 5 (38.4%) unruptured (p = 0.732) lesions. Multiple IAs accounted for 14 (40%) cases. Five cases (17.2%) had TTV+ and multiple aneurysms (p = 0.73). Association between presence of virus and aneurysm rupture was not statistically significant (p = 0.96).ConclusionThis study demonstrated a relatively high prevalence of viral DNA in the walls of IAs. This is the first study to identify the presence of TTV DNA in IA’s samples, which was found more often in ruptured lesions. This is an exploratory study, therefore, larger studies are required to clarify the relationships between inflammation, viral infection, IA formation and rupture.

The mysterious anelloviruses: investigating its role in human diseases

“…It has been proposed that continuous infection with these viruses can increase certain chromosomal translocations in the genome of host cells, which can be an important factor in the development of lymphoma and leukemia [ 21 , 94 ]. TTV infections typically do not show obvious clinical manifestations but can be associated with many organ dysfunctions [ 95 ]. The high circulation of this virus among the human population indicates that TTV is not the main cause of a specific disease.…”

Torque Teno Virus (TTV)—A Potential Marker of Immunocompetence in Solid Organ Recipients

“…It occurs in serum, in white blood cells (lymphocytes, granulocytes), saliva, and on mucosal surfaces. It can be detected in liver tissue and bile duct epithelium [ 6 ], gingival tissues [ 7 ], vascular walls [ 8 ], and many other tissues. TTV comprises the majority of the human virome, both in terms of percentage and the number of copies [ 2 ].…”