Ovarian Cancer & Nanobacteria Infection


Ovarian Cancer Research Today

Presence of nanobacteria in psammoma bodies of ovarian cancer: evidence
for pathogenetic role in intratumoral biomineralization.
Hudelist G, Singer CF, Kubista E, Manavi M, Mueller R, Pischinger K,
Czerwenka K

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Division of Special
Gynaecology, University of Vienna Medical Centre, Vienna, Austria.
gernot_hudelist@xxxxxxxx


AIMS: The presence of laminated, calcified extracellular debris known
as psammoma bodies is a well-known histomorphological feature of
ovarian adenocarcinomas and other human malignancies. Biomineralization
has recently been found to be associated with a group of extremely
small Gram-negative bacteria capable of precipitating calcium salts.
The aim of the present study was to evaluate a possible pathogenic link
between the development of psammoma bodies and nanobacteria infection.
MATERIAL AND RESULTS: Immunohistochemical staining and reverse
transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to analyse
nanobacterial protein and gene expression in eight psammona
body-containing adenocarcinomas and in 10 malignant ovarian tumours
without signs of biomineralization. Nanobacterial proteins were
detected in eight out of eight (100%) psammoma-positive tumour samples.
Conversely, none of the 10 psammoma-negative tissues (0%) was positive
for nanobacterial antigens. Furthermore, nanobacterial mRNA was
detectable in all of the four tissues (100%) that contained psammoma
bodies, but was absent in all 10 ovarian cystadenocarcinomas (0%) that
were psammoma negative. CONCLUSIONS: We found a 100% concordance
between the expression of nanobacteria and the presence of psammoma
bodies in malignant ovarian tumours. Several lines of evidence suggest
the involvement of these organisms in the process of biomineralization.
We therefore conclude that nanobacterial infection of malignant ovarian
tissue contributes to mechanisms leading to the formation of calcified
deposits known as psammoma bodies.

Published 30 November 2004 in Histopathology, 45(6): 633-7.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require
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