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Dougherty A, DeRon N, Hunter L. HHV-6 Infection in a 19-Year-Old Liver Transplant Recipient - Much More Than Roseola! IDCases 2023; 33:e01863. [PMID: 37559972 PMCID: PMC10407201 DOI: 10.1016/j.idcr.2023.e01863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infections, most commonly occurring during childhood, are frequently mild and self-limited. However, immunosuppression due to transplantation may cause reactivation of HHV-6 with manifestations ranging from fever and skin exanthem to pneumonitis, hepatitis, encephalitis, and myelitis. Because these infections may be devastating for liver transplant recipients leading to transplant organ fibrosis and failure, it is imperative that internists recognize the manifestations, establish early diagnosis, institute appropriate therapy, and make timely referrals to transplant specialists. We present a case of a 19-year-old liver transplant recipient with HHV-6 viremia, encephalopathy, and hepatitis. The patient's symptoms improved with ganciclovir and intravenous immunoglobulin treatment, serum HHV-6 copies gradually decreased, and she was discharged with outpatient follow-up. After approximately one month of antiviral therapy, the patient's viral load was undetectable. Early recognition of HHV-6 viremia, appropriate laboratory assessment, and early institution of therapy is important for internal medicine physicians to decrease morbidity and mortality in liver transplant recipients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alleyna Dougherty
- Burnett School of Medicine, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, United States
| | - Nathan DeRon
- Department of Internal Medicine, Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Leigh Hunter
- Department of Internal Medicine, Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
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Aimola G, Wight DJ, Flamand L, Kaufer BB. Excision of Integrated Human Herpesvirus 6A Genomes Using CRISPR/Cas9 Technology. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0076423. [PMID: 36926973 PMCID: PMC10100985 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00764-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Human herpesviruses 6A and 6B are betaherpesviruses that can integrate their genomes into the telomeres of latently infected cells. Integration can also occur in germ cells, resulting in individuals who harbor the integrated virus in every cell of their body and can pass it on to their offspring. This condition is termed inherited chromosomally integrated HHV-6 (iciHHV-6) and affects about 1% of the human population. The integrated HHV-6A/B genome can reactivate in iciHHV-6 patients and in rare cases can also cause severe diseases including encephalitis and graft-versus-host disease. Until now, it has remained impossible to prevent virus reactivation or remove the integrated virus genome. Therefore, we developed a system that allows the removal of HHV-6A from the host telomeres using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. We used specific guide RNAs (gRNAs) targeting the direct repeat region at the ends of the viral genome to remove the virus from latently infected cells generated in vitro and iciHHV-6A patient cells. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), quantitative PCR (qPCR), and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses revealed that the virus genome was efficiently excised and lost in most cells. Efficient excision was achieved with both constitutive and transient expression of Cas9. In addition, reverse transcription-qPCR (RT-qPCR) revealed that the virus genome did not reactivate upon excision. Taken together, our data show that our CRISPR/Cas9 approach allows efficient removal of the integrated virus genome from host telomeres. IMPORTANCE Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infects almost all humans and integrates into the telomeres of latently infected cells to persist in the host for life. In addition, HHV-6 can also integrate into the telomeres of germ cells, which results in about 80 million individuals worldwide who carry the virus in every cell of their body and can pass it on to their offspring. In this study, we develop the first system that allows excision of the integrated HHV-6 genome from host telomeres using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Our data revealed that the integrated HHV-6 genome can be efficiently removed from the telomeres of latently infected cells and cells of patients harboring the virus in their germ line. Virus removal could be achieved with both stable and transient Cas9 expression, without inducing viral reactivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Aimola
- Institut für Virologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Darren J. Wight
- Institut für Virologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Louis Flamand
- Division of Infectious and Immune Diseases, CHU de Quebec Research Center-Laval University, Québec, Canada
- Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Québec, Canada
| | - Benedikt B. Kaufer
- Institut für Virologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Veterinary Centre for Resistance Research (TZR), Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Banko A, Miljanovic D, Cirkovic A. Systematic review with meta-analysis of active herpesvirus infections in patients with COVID-19: Old players on the new field. Int J Infect Dis 2023; 130:108-125. [PMID: 36736577 PMCID: PMC9889115 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2023.01.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Herpesviruses are ubiquitous and after primary infection they establish lifelong latency. The impairment of maintaining latency with short-term or long-term consequences could be triggered by other infection. Therefore, reactivation of herpesviruses in COVID-19 patients represents an emerging issue. DESIGN AND METHODS This study provided the first systematic review with meta-analysis of studies that evaluated active human herpesvirus (HHV) infection (defined as the presence of IgM antibodies or HHV-DNA) in COVID-19 patients and included 36 publications collected by searching through PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of science until November 2022. RESULTS The prevalence of active EBV, HHV6, HSV, CMV, HSV1, and VZV infection in COVID-19 population was 41% (95% CI =27%-57%),3% (95% CI=17%-54%),28% (95% CI=1%-85%),25% (95% CI=1%-63%),22% (95% CI=10%-35%),and 18% (95% CI=4%-34%),respectively. There was a 6 times higher chance for active EBV infection in patients with severe COVID-19 than in non-COVID-19 controls (OR=6.45, 95% CI=1.09-38.13, p=0.040), although there was no difference in the prevalence of all evaluated active herpesvirus infections between COVID-19 patients and non-COVID-19 controls. CONCLUSIONS Future research of herpesvirus and SARS-CoV-2 coinfections must be prioritized to define: who, when and how to be tested, as well as how to effectively treat HHVs reactivations in acute and long COVID-19 patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Banko
- Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
| | - Danijela Miljanovic
- Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
| | - Andja Cirkovic
- Institute for Medical Statistics and Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
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Lino K, Alves LS, Raposo JV, Medeiros T, Souza CF, Silva AAD, de Paula VS, Almeida JR. Presence and clinical impact of human herpesvirus-6 infection in patients with moderate to critical coronavirus disease-19. J Med Virol 2021; 94:1212-1216. [PMID: 34647632 PMCID: PMC8662171 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.27392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) may cause serious diseases in immunocompromised individuals. SARS-CoV-2/HHV-6 coinfection has been emphasized in previous works, mostly case reports, small series, or epidemiological studies, but few are known about its real clinical outcomes. Here we present a real-world pilot study aiming to understand the frequency and the clinical impact of HHV-6 coinfection in moderate to critically ill patients hospitalized due to COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 and HHV-6 were evaluated in nasopharyngeal samples at the hospital admission of suspected COVID-19 patients. From 173 consecutive cases, 60 were SARS-CoV-2 positive and 13/60 (21.7%) were HHV-6 positive after identified as the HHV-6B species by a Sanger sequencing. The SARS-CoV-2+/HHV-6+ group was younger but not significant for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, and cancer, but significant among therapeutic immunosuppressed patients (as systemic lupus erythematosus and kidney transplant patients). In the medical records, only sparse data on cutaneous or neurological manifestations were found. Biochemical and hematological data showed only a trend towards hyperferritinemic status and lymphopenia. In conclusion, despite the impressive high frequency of HHV-6 coinfection in SARS-CoV-2 positive cases, it did not impact general mortality. We suggest larger future prospective studies to better elucidate the influence of HHV-6 reactivation in cases of COVID-19, designed to specific assessment of clinical outcomes and viral reactivation mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katia Lino
- Multiuser Laboratory for Research Support in Nephrology and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Postgraduation Program in Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Lilian S Alves
- Multiuser Laboratory for Research Support in Nephrology and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Postgraduation Program in Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jessica V Raposo
- Laboratory of Molecular Virology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Thalia Medeiros
- Multiuser Laboratory for Research Support in Nephrology and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Postgraduation Program in Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Cintia F Souza
- Multiuser Laboratory for Research Support in Nephrology and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Postgraduation Program in Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Andrea A da Silva
- Multiuser Laboratory for Research Support in Nephrology and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Postgraduation Program in Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Vanessa S de Paula
- Laboratory of Molecular Virology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jorge R Almeida
- Multiuser Laboratory for Research Support in Nephrology and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Postgraduation Program in Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Wang Y, Wang D, Tao X. Human herpesvirus 6B encephalitis in a liver transplant recipient: A case report and review of the literature. Transpl Infect Dis 2020; 23:e13403. [PMID: 32638491 PMCID: PMC7988578 DOI: 10.1111/tid.13403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2020] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Human herpesvirus 6B (HHV‐6B) encephalitis in a liver transplant recipient is rarely reported. In this report, we presented a case of HHV‐6B encephalitis in a liver transplant recipient and reviewed the relevant literature. A 56‐year‐old man was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with an acute headache and intermittent convulsion 17 days after liver transplantation. Next‐generation sequencing (NGS) of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) revealed 30691 sequence reads of HHV‐6B and real‐time polymerase chain reaction (real‐time PCR) of the CSF detected HHV‐6B DNA at 12 000 copies/mL, so the patient was diagnosed with HHV‐6B encephalitis and received ganciclovir treatment promptly. The condition of the patient improved well and returned to the general ward with no neurologic deficits. This case indicated that adequate awareness, early diagnosis, and timely treatment are crucial to a good prognosis of HHV‐6B encephalitis after liver transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinfeng Wang
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, China
| | - Di Wang
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, China
| | - Xiaogen Tao
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230036, China
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