Maria Söderlund-Venermo

University of Helsinki | HY · Department of Virology

Purpose Sinonasal lymphoma (SL) is a rare lymphatic neoplasm of the nasal cavities, paranasal sinuses and nasopharynx. Whereas some risk factors for SL subtypes have been identified, their aetiology is unknown. Along with other predisposing factors, the viral association of lymphomas, such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Burkitt and Hodgkin lymphom...

Background The etiology behind different types of chronic sialadenitis (CS), some of which exhibit IgG4 overexpression, is unknown. Further, IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) commonly affects the submandibular gland, but its relationship to IgG4-overexpressing CS, and the antigen triggering IgG4 overexpression, remain unknown. Materials and Methods B...

A significant association has been established between a newly emerging human parvovirus, cutavirus (CuV), and cutaneous T‐cell lymphoma/mycosis fungoides (CTCL/MF) and its precursor parapsoriasis en plaques (PP). CTCL is a heterogeneous group of skin malignancies of T cells, the cause of which remains unknown. This study aimed to determine the act...

Background: Human bocaviruses (HBoVs) have been demonstrated in respiratory and gastrointestinal infections; however, the immune response to them has not been studied in detail. In this study, we investigated the B cell immune responses to HBoV1 and HBoV2, representing two different species of bocaviruses in humans. Methods: We analyzed the effe...

Background Rhinovirus (RV)‐induced first wheezing episodes in children are associated with a markedly increased risk of asthma. Previous studies have suggested that human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) may modify RV‐induced immune responses in young children. We investigated cytokine profiles of sole RV‐ and dual RV‐HBoV1‐induced first wheezing episodes, and...

Cutavirus (CuV) is associated with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), of which parapsoriasis is a precursor. Our study reveals a significantly higher CuV-DNA prevalence in skin-swabs of parapsoriasis patients (6/13, 46.2%), compared to those of healthy adults (1/51, 1.96%). Eight patients (8/12, 66.7%) had CuV-DNA in biopsied skin, and four develope...

Etiology of vestibular schwannoma (VS) is unknown. Viruses can infect and reside in neural tissues for decades, and new viruses with unknown tumorigenic potential have been discovered. The presence of herpesvirus, polyomavirus, parvovirus, and anellovirus DNA was analyzed by quantitative PCR in 46 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded VS samples. Five s...

Parvoviruses are small, single-stranded DNA viruses with non-enveloped capsids. Determining the capsid structures provides a framework for annotating regions important to the viral life cycle. Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV), a pathogen in minks, and human parvovirus 4 (PARV4), infecting humans, are parvoviruses belonging to the genera Amdoparvo...

Human torque teno viruses (TTVs) are a diverse group of small nonenveloped viruses with circular, single-stranded DNA genomes. These elusive anelloviruses are harbored in the blood stream of most humans and have thus been considered part of the normal flora. Whether the primary infection as a rule take(s) place before or after birth has been debate...

Parvoviruses are single-stranded DNA viruses, infecting many animals from insects to humans. Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) causes erythema infectiosum, arthropathy, anemia, and fetal death, and human bocavirus (HBoV) 1 causes respiratory tract infections, while HBoV2-4 are enteric. Parvoviral genomes can persist in diverse non-permissive tissues afte...

Abstract Background Older adults are more susceptible to respiratory tract infection than healthy working age adults. The increased susceptibility of older adults is thought to be interlinked with vitamin D status, nourishment, and immunological state in general. Data are scarce whether these parameters could serve as prognostic markers. Aim To stu...

This communication summarizes the presentations given at the 1st international conference of the World Society for Virology (WSV) held virtually during 16–18 June 2021, under the theme of tackling global viral epidemics. The purpose of this biennial meeting is to foster international collaborations and address important viral epidemics in different...

Background: The etiology of salivary gland tumors is mainly unknown. The anatomical location of the salivary glands, with the mucosal pathway to the oral cavity and its rich microbiome, raises the question of potential viral background. Objective: This study focuses on the potential presence of herpes-, polyoma- and parvoviruses in pleomorphic a...

Background Persistent human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) infection is a common finding in patients suffering from chronic tonsillar disease. However, the associations between HBoV1 infection and specific immune reactions are not completely known. We aimed to compare in vivo expression of T-cell cytokines, transcription factors, and type I/III interferons in...

Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) of the family Parvoviridae causes mild to life-threatening respiratory tract infections in young children, but, due to widespread immunity, it is uncommon in adults. HBoV1 reinfections or reactivations leading to casualties are rare, but might be underdiagnosed. We report two young adults, one previously healthy and one im...

Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) and HBoV2 to -4 infect children and immunocompromised individuals, resulting in respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, respectively. Using cryo-electron microscopy and image reconstruction, the HBoV2 capsid structure was determined to 2.7-Å resolution at pH 7.4 and compared to the previously determined HBoV1, HBoV3,...

Three human protoparvoviruses, bufavirus (BuV), tusavirus (TuV) and cutavirus (CuV), have recently been discovered in diarrheal stool. BuV has been associated with diarrhea and CuV with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, but there are hardly any data for TuV or CuV in stool or respiratory samples. Hence, using qPCR and IgG enzyme immunoassays, we analyzed...

Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) has gained attention as a gene delivery vector with its ability to infect polarized human airway epithelia and 5.5 kb genome packaging capacity. Gorilla bocavirus 1 (GBoV1) VP3 shares 86% amino acid sequence identity with HBoV1 but has better transduction efficiency in several human cell types. Here, we report the capsid s...

Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1), a nonenveloped single-stranded DNA parvovirus, causes mild to life-threatening respiratory tract infections, acute otitis media, and encephalitis in young children. HBoV1 often persists in nasopharyngeal secretions for months, hampering diagnosis. It has also been shown to persist in pediatric palatine and adenoid tonsils...

Parvoviridae, a diverse family of small single-stranded DNA viruses was established in 1975. It was divided into two subfamilies, Parvovirinae and Densovirinae, in 1993 to accommodate parvoviruses that infect vertebrate and invertebrate animals, respectively. This relatively straightforward segregation, using host association as the prime criterion...

The imprints left by persistent DNA viruses in the tissues can testify to the changes driving virus evolution as well as provide clues on the provenance of modern and ancient humans. However, the history hidden in skeletal remains is practically unknown, as only parvovirus B19 and hepatitis B virus DNA have been detected in hard tissues so far. Her...

Several members of the Protoparvovirus genus, capable of infecting humans, have been recently discovered, including cutavirus (CuV) and tusavirus (TuV). To begin the characterization of these viruses, we have used cryo-electron microscopy and image reconstruction to determine their capsid structures to ~2.9 Å resolution, and glycan array and cell-b...

Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) is a parvovirus that gathers increasing attention due to its pleiotropic role as a pathogen and emerging vector for human gene therapy. Curiously, albeit a large variety of HBoV1 capsid variants has been isolated from human samples, only one has been studied as a gene transfer vector to date. Here, we analyzed a cohort of...

Human parvovirus B19, human cytomegalovirus, and Toxoplasma gondii are ubiquitous pathogens. Their infections are often asymptomatic or mild in the general population yet may be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy. Maternal infections by these pathogens can cause severe complications to the fetus or congenital abnormalities. As a rule...

The World Society for Virology (WSV) was founded and incorporated as a nonprofit organization in the United States in 2017. WSV seeks to strengthen and support both virological research and virologists who conduct research of viruses that affect humans, other animals, plants, and other organisms. One of the objectives of WSV is to connect virologis...

Parvoviruses are structurally simple viruses with linear single-stranded DNA genomes and nonenveloped icosahedral capsids. They infect a wide range of animals from insects to humans. Parvovirus B19 is a long-known human pathogen, whereas adeno-associated viruses are nonpathogenic. Since 2005, many parvoviruses have been discovered in human-derived...

Background: Human bocavirus 1 is a commonly detected human parvovirus. Many studies have shown human bocavirus 1 as a pathogen in association with acute respiratory tract infections in children. However, because human bocavirus 1 persists in the upper airways for extensive time periods after acute infection, the definition and diagnostics of acute...

Background: Diagnosis of human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) has been based on qualitative PCRs detecting HBoV1 DNA or detection of HBoV1 mRNA. Objective: This study aims to assess whether a rapid and automated HBoV1 antigen test is suitable for diagnosis of acute HBoV1 infection. Study design: HBoV1 antigen detection has been compared with quantitative...

Since its discovery in 2005, human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) has globally been one of the most common respiratory viruses. It is currently accepted that HBoV1 is a pathogen, causing upper and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in children. However, due to the prolonged HBoV1 DNA shedding from the upper airways and the subsequent high rate of co-d...

Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) can persist in nasopharynx and tonsils. Using HBoV1 serology, reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detecting messenger RNA (mRNA) and quantitative PCR for HBoV1 genome load count, we studied to what extent the HBoV1 DNA loads in nasopharynx correlate with acute infection markers. Tonsillar tissue, naso...

Abstract Background In children suffering from severe lower airway illnesses, respiratory virus detection has given good prognostic information, but such reports in the elderly are scarce. Therefore, our aim was to study whether the detection of nasopharyngeal viral pathogens and conventional inflammatory markers in the frail elderly correlate to t...

Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1), belonging to the Parvoviridae family, was discovered in 2005, in nasopharyngeal samples from children with respiratory tract infections. Three additional bocaviruses, HBoV2–4, were discovered in 2009–10. These viruses have mainly been found in faecal samples and their role in human diseases is still uncertain. HBoV1 cause...

We report a case of lower respiratory tract infection with human bocavirus 1 (HboV1) in an immunodeficient 6-month-old boy leading to respiratory failure with fatal outcome. Polymerase chain reaction of serum/tracheal secretions revealed exceptionally high HboV1-DNA levels and immunoassays showed seroconversion indicating an acute primary HboV1 inf...

Members of the family Parvoviridae are small, resilient, non-enveloped viruses with linear, single-stranded DNA genomes of 4-6 kb. Viruses in two subfamilies, the Parvovirinae and Densovirinae, are distinguished primarily by their respective ability to infect vertebrates (including humans) versus invertebrates. Being genetically limited, most parvo...

To date 14 human polyomaviruses (HPyVs) have been identified. The newly found HPyVs have not been examined with regard to post‐transplant skin carcinogenesis. To determine the occurrences in skin and possible pathological associations of the HPyVs, we studied their genoprevalences in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in situ or actinic keratosis and be...

Purpose Approximately 20% of cancers are estimated to have a viral etiology. We aimed to investigate whether DNA of 8 human parvoviruses [bocavirus 1–4 (HBoV1–4), parvovirus B19 (B19V), protoparvoviruses (bufa-, tusa-, and cutavirus)] and 13 human polyomaviruses (HPyV) can be detected in oropharyngeal and oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC/...

Human bocaviruses (HBoVs) 1–4 belong to the Parvoviridae family, and they infect the respiratory or gastrointestinal tracts in children. We investigated the prevalence of HBoV1–4 DNAs in the blood and stool samples, and of HBoV1–4 IgG and IgM in the plasma samples, of children presenting with acute gastroenteritis (AGE). In addition, we identified...

Background Wheezing illnesses among young children are common and are a risk factor for asthma. However, determinants of childhood bronchial reactivity, a key feature of asthma, are largely unknown. The aim of this study was to determine how patient characteristics during the first severe virus‐induced wheezing episode are associated with pulmonary...

Background: Three new parvoviruses of Protoparvovirus genus, bufavirus (BuV), tusavirus (TuV) and cutavirus (CuV), have recently been discovered in diarrheal stools. CuV was further detected in a proportion of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma/mycosis fungoides (CTCL/MF) skin samples and in one melanoma. Patients and methods: With novel multiplex quanti...

Structural Characterization of Emerging Pathogenic Human Parvoviruses - Volume 24 Supplement - Mario Mietzsch, Mengxiao Luo, Jennifer C. Yu, Shweta Kailasan, Maria Ilyas, Paul Chipman, Duncan Sousa, Maria Soderlund-Venermo, Robert McKenna, Mavis Agbandje-McKenna

Development of next-generation sequencing and metagenomics has revolutionized detection of novel viruses. Among these viruses are 3 human protoparvoviruses: bufavirus, tusavirus, and cutavirus. These viruses have been detected in feces of children with diarrhea. In addition, cutavirus has been detected in skin biopsy specimens of cutaneous T-cell l...

Development of next-generation sequencing and metagenomics has revolutionized detection of novel viruses. Among these viruses are 3 human protoparvoviruses: bufavirus, tusavirus, and cutavirus. These viruses have been detected in feces of children with diarrhea. In addition, cutavirus has been detected in skin biopsy specimens of cutaneous T-cell l...

Bufavirus strain 1 (BuV1), a member of the Protoparvovirus genus of the Parvoviridae, was first isolated from fecal samples of children with acute diarrhea in Burkina Faso. Since this initial discovery, BuVs have been isolated in several countries, including Finland, the Netherlands, and Bhutan, in pediatric patients exhibiting similar symptoms. To...

Next-generation sequencing and metagenomics have revolutionized the discovery of novel viruses. In recent years, three novel protoparvoviruses have been discovered in fecal samples of humans: bufavirus (BuV) in 2012, tusavirus (TuV) in 2014, and cutavirus (CuV) in 2016. BuV has since been studied the most, disclosing three genotypes that also repre...

Aim: To assess the role of human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) as a causative agent of non-severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children. Methods: Patients aged 2-59 months with non-severe CAP (respiratory complaints and radiographic pulmonary infiltrate/consolidation) attending a University Hospital in Salvador, Brazil were enrolled in a prospect...

Linked Article: Santonja et al. Br J Dermatol 2017; 177:1060–1065.

We report a case of human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) bronchiolitis that led to life-threatening respiratory failure in a 9-month-old boy with no other pathogens detected. The virus-specific diagnosis was confirmed with the detection of HBoV1 DNA in respiratory samples and both DNA and immunoglobulins M and G to HBoV1 in serum samples.

Background In the past few years, eleven new human viruses have joined the two previously known members JCPyV and BKPyV of the Polyomaviridae family, by virtue of molecular methods. Serology data suggest that infections with human polyomaviruses (HPyVs) occur since childhood and the viruses are widespread in the general population. However, the vir...

Bocaparvoviruses are emerging pathogens of the Parvoviridae family. Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) causes severe respiratory infections and HBoV2 to HBoV4 cause gastrointestinal infections in young children. Recent reports of lifethreatening cases, lack of direct treatment or vaccination, and a limited understanding of their disease mechanisms highlight...

Background: Human bocavirus (HBoV) 1 can cause life-threatening respiratory tract infection in children. Diagnosing acute HBoV1 infection is challenging due to long-term airway persistence. We assessed whether messenger (m)RNA detection would correlate better than DNA detection, with acute HBoV1 infection. Methods: Paired sera of 121 children wi...

Parvovirus B19 (B19V) DNA persists lifelong in human tissues, but the cell type harbouring it remains unclear. We here explore B19V DNA distribution in B, T and monocyte cell lineages of recently excised tonsillar tissues from 77 individuals with an age range of 2–69 years. We show that B19V DNA is most frequent and abundant among B cells, and with...

Supplementary Figures and Supplementary Tables

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139096.].

Parvovirus B19 (B19V) and human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1), members of the large Parvoviridae family, are human pathogens responsible for a variety of diseases. For B19V in particular, host features determine disease manifestations. These viruses are prevalent worldwide and are culturable in vitro , and serological and molecular assays are available but r...

Two human parvoviruses were recently discovered by metagenomics in Africa, bufavirus (BuV) in 2012 and tusavirus (TuV) in 2014. These viruses have been studied exclusively by PCR in stool and detected only in patients with diarrhoea, although at low prevalence. Three genotypes of BuV have been identified. We detected, by in-house EIA, BuV1-3 IgG an...

Background: Viral infections remain the cause of key complications following haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The impact of multiple, concurrent viral reactivations/infections remains to be delineated. Methods: The clinical correlates of single or multiple viremic infections following HSCT and especially the occurrence of respira...

Importance: Human bocaviruses (HBoVs) may cause severe respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in young children. The non-enveloped parvovirus capsid carries determinants of host and tissue tropism, pathogenicity, genome packaging, assembly, and antigenicity important for virus infection. This information is currently unavailable for the HBoVs...

Clinically relevant diagnosis of Human Bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) is challenging as the virus is frequently detected in asymptomatic patients and co-findings with other respiratory viruses are common. The clinical value of current diagnostic methods, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), is therefore low and alternative diagnostic strategies are needed...

Background: Human parvovirus B19 (B19V), cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) may cause intrauterine infections with potentially severe consequences to the fetus. Current serodiagnosis of these infections is based on detection of antibodies most often by EIA and individually for each pathogen. We developed singleplex and multipl...

Timely and reliable detection of viruses is of key importance in early diagnosis of infection(s) following allogeneic HSCT. Among the immunocompetent, infections with BKPyV and JCPyV are mostly subclinical, while post-HSCT, the former may cause HC and the latter PML. The epidemiology and clinical impact of the newly identified KIPyV, WUPyV, MCPyV,...

Human bocaviruses (HBoVs) 1–4 are recently discovered, antigenically similar parvoviruses. We examined the hypothesis that the antigenic similarity of these viruses could give rise to clinically and diagnostically important immunological interactions. IgG and IgM EIAs as well as qPCR were used to study ~2000 sera collected from infancy to early ado...

BACKGROUND Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) are ubiquitous pathogens that may lead to severe intrauterine infection. Thus, the serological status of the mother is important in counselling and recognition of acute infection. IgG-avidity measurement differentiates recent from past infection and is useful in timing of primary infe...

DNA in human skeletal remains represents an important historical source of host genomic information and potentially of infecting viruses. However, little is known about viral persistence in bone. We searched ca. 70-year-old long bones of putative Finnish casualties from World War II for parvovirus B19 (B19V) DNA, and found a remarkable prevalence o...

Human bocavirus (HBoV) 1 is a widespread parvovirus causing acute respiratory disease in young children. HBoV2 rather occurs in the gastrointestinal tract potentially associating with gastroenteritis, while HBoV3 and -4 infections are less frequent and not yet linked with human disease. Due to HBoV1-DNA persistence in the nasopharynx, serology has...

Recently a parvovirus called bufavirus (BuV) has been implicated as a causative agent of diarrhoea. To further reveal the epidemiology and genetic characteristics of BuV this study was performed in Turkish children with diarrhoea. BuV was detected in 1.4% (8/583) of samples with diarrhoea. All stool samples from healthy children (n=148) were negati...

Susceptibility to early rhinovirus-induced wheezing has been recognized as an important risk factor for childhood asthma, but data on the first wheezing episode are limited. The aim of this selected population study was to investigate virus etiology, atopic characteristics and illness severity, as well as their interrelation, among first-time wheez...

Vitamin D may be protective against acute respiratory infections and atopic illnesses, but studies have been conflicting (1, 2). One likely reason is the vast variability in measurement of vitamin D (based on interview about dietary intake versus actual measurement of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25OHD] concentrations) and major differences in study popula...

Background Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) infection during early pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage. Studies have inconsistently shown an elevated risk of infection among women with occupational contacts with children. Methodological differences, particularly in defining occupational exposure and in the type of reference group, may explain th...

We identified a new genotype of bufavirus, BuV3, in fecal samples (0.8%) collected to determine the etiology of diarrhea in children in Bhutan. Norovirus GII.6 was detected in 1 sample; no other viral diarrheal pathogens were detected, suggesting BuV3 as a cause of diarrhea. This study investigates genetic diversity of circulating BuVs.

Bufavirus quantitative PCR and phylogenetic analylsis.

We used comprehensive serodiagnostic methods (IgM, IgG, and IgG avidity) and PCR to study Merkel cell polyomavirus and trichodysplasia spinulosa-associated polyomavirus infections in children observed from infancy to adolescence. Comparing seroconversion intervals with previous and subsequent intervals, we found that primary infections with these 2...

Distribution of outcomes of serodiagnostic methods, Finland, January 2011–July 2013.

Unlabelled: Human bocaviruses (HBoVs) may be grouped into respiratory (HBoV1) and enteric (HBoV2-4) types. We examined this association of HBoV types and clinical symptoms in 955 children who had acute gastroenteritis (AGE, n = 172), acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI, n = 545) or symptoms of both (n = 238). Both nasal swab and stool specimen...

B19V is a member of the Parvoviridae family, genus Erythrovirus. B19V IgG and IgM have different reactivities against conformational and linear epitopes of VP1 and VP2 antigens leading to the development of IgM, and IgG-avidity and epitope type specificity (ETS) enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for identifying recent from past infection. Additionally, B1...