Patient-individual cancer cell lines and tissue analysis delivers no evidence of sequences from DNA viruses in colorectal cancer cells

Abstract Background Several DNA viruses are highly suspicious to have oncogenic effects in humans. This study investigates the presence of potentially oncogenic viruses such as SV40, JCV, BKV and EBV in patient-derived colorectal carcinoma (CRC) cells typifying all molecular subtypes of CRC. Methods Sample material (gDNA and cDNA) of a total of 49 patient-individual CRC cell lines and corresponding primary material from 11 patients, including normal, tumor-derived and metastasis-derived tissue were analyzed for sequences of SV40, JVC, BKV and EBV using endpoint PCR. In addition, the susceptibility of CRC cells to JCV and BKV was examined using a long-term cultivation approach of patient-individual cells in the presence of viruses. Results No virus-specific sequences could be detected in all specimens. Likewise, no morphological changes were observed and no evidence for viral infection or integration could be provided after long term CRC cell cultivation in presence of viral particles. Conclusions In summary, the presented data suggest that there is no direct correlation between tumorigenesis and viral load and consequently no evidence for a functional role of the DNA viruses included into this analysis in CRC development.