Human herpesvirus-6 reactivation in a longitudinal study of two HIV-1 infected patients

✍ Scribed by Iuliano, Rodolfo; Trovato, Raffaella; Lico, Salvatore; Luppi, Mario; Forastieri, Giuseppe; Barsanti, Laura Angela; Pizzigallo, Anna Maria; Mecocci, Lorenzo; Barozzi, Patrizia; Torelli, Giuseppe; Mazzotta, Francesco; Ceccherini-Nelli, Luca

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 308 KB
• Volume: 51
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0146-6615
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9071(199704)51:4<259::aid-jmv1>3.0.co;2-4

✦ Synopsis

After primary infection, human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) persists in latent form and can be reactivated in immunocompromised subjects. A longitudinal study of HHV-6 infection was carried out in two HIV-1 seropositive patients to provide in vivo evidence of HHV-6 reactivation. Concomitant with a significant rise of anti-HHV-6 IgG detected by IFA, a transient increase of HHV-6 viral load was shown in PBLs by PCR. During HHV-6 reactivation it was also identified either cell-free HHV-6 by PCR in plasma or IgM antibody titers. HHV-6 reactivation was followed by a temporary decrease in CD4+ count and by a progressive dramatic loss of CD4+ during the following 18 months. HHV-6 strain characterization by PCR demonstrated that first patient (MM) initially showed the B variant, followed by reactivation and persistence of the A variant, while in the second (SG) only the A variant was detected. The evidence of HHV-6 reactivation suggests its involvement in immunologic damage underlying the disease.