Cutavirus Infection in Large Plaque Parapsoriasis, a Premalignant Condition of Mycosis Fungoides

Yumiko Hashida; Kimiko Nakajima; Tomonori Higuchi; Takako Ujihara; Kozo Nakai; Masanori Daibata

doi:10.1093/infdis/jiad521

Cutavirus Infection in Large Plaque Parapsoriasis, a Premalignant Condition of Mycosis Fungoides

J Infect Dis. 2023 Nov 23:jiad521. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiad521. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yumiko Hashida¹, Kimiko Nakajima², Tomonori Higuchi¹, Takako Ujihara^{1

3}, Kozo Nakai², Masanori Daibata¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology and Infection, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Nankoku, Kochi, Japan.
² Department of Dermatology, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Nankoku, Kochi, Japan.
³ Science Research Center, Kochi University, Nankoku, Kochi, Japan.

PMID: 37995315
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiad521

Abstract

Background: Cutavirus (CuV) is associated with mycosis fungoides; however, the CuV status in parapsoriasis en plaques (PP), a premalignant inflammatory condition of mycosis fungoides, has not been fully delineated.

Methods: Fifty-five Japanese patients with chronic inflammatory skin diseases, including 13 patients with PP, were studied.

Results: CuV DNA was detected significantly more frequently in biopsies of the lesional skin from patients with PP (38% [4/13]) than in those from patients with other inflammatory skin diseases (2% [1/42]; P = 0.009). All CuV-positive PP cases were of the large plaque parapsoriasis (LPP) subtype. The viral loads ranged from 83,450 to 2,164,170 copies/103 cells. We recovered near-full-length CuV sequences from the CuV-positive LPP biopsies, all of which were of the Japanese/Asian genotype. The CuV genome appeared to be present within lymphoid cells infiltrating the epidermis and dermis. CuV NS1 and VP1 gene transcripts were also detected in the affected tissues.

Conclusions: The preferential detection of high levels of CuV DNA with the expression of viral mRNA suggests a potential role for CuV in the pathogenesis of LPP, making it necessary to study further the impact of CuV, especially regarding the viral genotype, on the outcomes of patients with CuV-positive LPP.

Keywords: Cutavirus; genetic variability; large plaque parapsoriasis; mycosis fungoides; viral load.