<i>Bartonella henselae</i> Detected in Malignant Melanoma, a Preliminary Study
Marna E. Ericson,
Edward B. Breitschwerdt,
Paul Reicherter,
Cole Maxwell,
Ricardo G. Maggi,
Richard G. Melvin,
Azar H. Maluki,
Julie M. Bradley,
Jennifer C. Miller,
Glenn E. Simmons,
Jamie Dencklau,
Keaton Joppru,
Jack Peterson,
Will Bae,
Janet Scanlon,
Lynne T. Bemis
Affiliations
Marna E. Ericson
T Lab Inc., 910 Clopper Road, Suite 220S, Gaithersburg, MD 20878, USA
Edward B. Breitschwerdt
Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Comparative Medicine Institute, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
Paul Reicherter
Dermatology Clinic, Truman Medical Center, University of Missouri, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA
Cole Maxwell
Department of Dermatology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Ricardo G. Maggi
Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Comparative Medicine Institute, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
Richard G. Melvin
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Duluth Campus, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN 55812, USA
Azar H. Maluki
Department of Dermatology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Julie M. Bradley
Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Comparative Medicine Institute, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
Jennifer C. Miller
Galaxy Diagnostics Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Glenn E. Simmons
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Duluth Campus, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN 55812, USA
Jamie Dencklau
Department of Dermatology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Keaton Joppru
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Duluth Campus, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN 55812, USA
Jack Peterson
Department of Dermatology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Will Bae
Department of Dermatology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Janet Scanlon
Department of Dermatology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Lynne T. Bemis
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Duluth Campus, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN 55812, USA
Bartonella bacilliformis (B. bacilliformis), Bartonella henselae (B. henselae), and Bartonella quintana (B. quintana) are bacteria known to cause verruga peruana or bacillary angiomatosis, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-dependent cutaneous lesions in humans. Given the bacteria’s association with the dermal niche and clinical suspicion of occult infection by a dermatologist, we determined if patients with melanoma had evidence of Bartonella spp. infection. Within a one-month period, eight patients previously diagnosed with melanoma volunteered to be tested for evidence of Bartonella spp. exposure/infection. Subsequently, confocal immunohistochemistry and PCR for Bartonella spp. were used to study melanoma tissues from two patients. Blood from seven of the eight patients was either seroreactive, PCR positive, or positive by both modalities for Bartonella spp. exposure. Subsequently, Bartonella organisms that co-localized with VEGFC immunoreactivity were visualized using multi-immunostaining confocal microscopy of thick skin sections from two patients. Using a co-culture model, B. henselae was observed to enter melanoma cell cytoplasm and resulted in increased vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGFC) and interleukin 8 (IL-8) production. Findings from this small number of patients support the need for future investigations to determine the extent to which Bartonella spp. are a component of the melanoma pathobiome.
