title: Detection and quantification of virus DNA in plasma of patients with Epstein-Barr virus-associated diseases.
abstract: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) causes various diseases, such as infectious mononucleosis (IM), fatal IM, EBV-associated hemophagocytic syndrome (EBVAHS), and chronic active EBV infection (CAEBV). In the present study, cell-free EBV DNA was detected in the plasma of patients with EBV-associated diseases by PCR assay. The patients included 20 patients with IM, 2 patients with fatal IM, 4 patients with EBVAHS, 4 patients with CAEBV, and 38 healthy children (20 EBV seropositive and 18 EBV seronegative). In patients with IM, plasma samples were positive for EBV DNA in all patients (100%) in the acute phase and in 44% of the patients in the convalescent phase, but plasma samples from the 38 healthy control children were negative (0%) for EBV DNA. Quantitative PCR assay revealed that plasma from patients with IM contained the highest amount of virus DNA within 7 days following the onset of disease (mean, 6 x 10(4) copies per ml). The EBV DNA concentration decreased thereafter as the patients recovered. Plasma from patients with fatal IM contained more than 100 times more copies of EBV DNA (3 x 10(7) copies per ml) than plasma from patients with IM. Plasma from patients with the acute phase of EBVAHS contained 10 times more copies of EBV DNA (5 x 10(5) copies per ml) than plasma from IM, and then patients with the number of copies decreased similarly in both groups of patients in the convalescent phase (2 x 10(4) copies per ml). The amount of virus DNA in patients with CAEBV (6 x 10(4) copies per ml) was similar to that noted in patients with IM; however, it became higher (1 x 10(6) copies per ml) when the patients' clinical status deteriorated. These data suggest that the presence of cell-free EBV DNA in plasma is a common phenomenon in patients with EBV-associated diseases. The concentration of EBV DNA in plasma seems to be higher in patients with the more severe clinical categories of EBV diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hironaka
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirai
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuzushima
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Morishima
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000821:virology*; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015616:Histiocytosis, Non-Langerhans-Cell / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007244:Infectious Mononucleosis / Q000821:virology*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral