Seroprevalence of human herpesvirus 8 infection in children born to HIV-1- infected women in São Paulo, Brazil

Oral and genital human herpesvirus 8 and human papillomavirus in heterosexual partners

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to verify a possible co-infection of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) in commonly associated human papillomavirus (HPV) penile lesions and to determine the frequency of detection of these viruses in the oral mucosa of their female counterparts.

METHODS

Thirty-one male subjects underwent penile swabs from clinical HPV-related lesions. Their female counterparts underwent swabs of the vagina, uterine cervix, and oral mucosa. HPV and HHV-8 detection was performed by polymerase chain reaction using the consensus primers MY11/MY09 and KS1/KS2, respectively.

RESULTS

HPV DNA was detected in 31/31 penile lesions. HPV DNA was also detected in 18/31 (58%) female genital brushings and 17/31 (54%) female oral brushings. HHV-8 DNA was detected in 1/31 (3.2%) male genital brushings and 3/31 (9.6%) female oral mucosa brushings. None of the female genital brushings were HHV-8 DNA-infected.

CONCLUSIONS

Based upon the results of this study, co-infection between HPV and HHV-8 in malignant and pre-malignant penile lesions is an unlikely finding.

High diversity of HHV-8 molecular subtypes in the Amazon region of Brazil: evidence of an ancient human infection

The present study describes the molecular epidemiology of Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) among four Indian tribes (Kararao, Arara Laranjal, Tiriyo, and Zo'e) of the Amazon region of Brazil and a group of HIV-1-infected subjects from the urban population of Belem, Para. Infection was characterized by the presence of antibodies using ELISA (measuring antibodies to ORF59, ORF65, K8.1A, K8.1B, and ORF73), and molecular assays (gene amplification of the regions ORF26 and the variable region VR1). Antibodies to HHV-8 were detected in 66 samples of the 221 Brazilian Amerindians, namely, 6 (25%) in the Kararao, 18 (19.6%) in the Arara Laranjal, 24 (42.9%) in the Tiriyo, and 18 (36.7%) in the Zo'e. Among the 477 HIV-1-infected subjects, antibodies to HHV-8 were present in 74 (15.5%) persons. The ORF26 region was amplified in seven samples, one of the Arara Laranjal, one of the Tiriyo, two of the Zo'e, and three of the HIV-1-infected group. Subtyping of HHV-8 described a high multiplicity of molecular subtypes, including C (Zo'e), E (Tiriyo), and B (HIV-1 infected). Serological results confirm the high prevalence of HHV-8 among Amerindians and the presence of three subtypes in the Amazon region of Brazil, including a unique subtype, which favors the idea of HHV-8 as an ancient human infection within this particular geographical region.

No role for kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus in pediatric idiopathic pulmonary hypertension

Idiopathic pulmonary hypertension (IPHT) is a rare but progressive disease with devastating outcomes, especially in children. The etiology is unknown. A recent study reported a potential role of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus in the pathogenesis of IPHT in adults. Our goal was to test if this association exists in pediatric patients. The pathology specimen database of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh from 1980-2004 was searched, and all patients with a diagnosis of IPHT were enrolled. Lung tissues containing the characteristic plexiform lesion from all patients were selected and stained with antibody to latent nuclear antigen (LNA-1) of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus. To avoid false-negative results, three different positive controls were utilized. Eighteen patients were identified; 3 had familial pulmonary hypertension, and 2 had persistent pulmonary hypertension of infancy. Patients' ages varied from 3 days to 17 years, and the female-to-male ratio was 2:1. No positive history of HIV or of parents with HIV was identified. The Heath-Edwards grade of pulmonary hypertension was between 3-5. All patients died: 11 from the disease, and the remaining 7 died after receiving a lung transplant. Immunohistochemical staining with LNA-1 antibody showed no staining of either endothelial or smooth muscle cell nuclei in any of the patients' lung tissues, while all three positive control specimens showed the characteristic intranuclear granular, punctate staining pattern. Our results do not support a role for Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus in the pathogenesis of pediatric IPHT.