title: Distribution of HHV-6 variants in human tissues.
abstract: Human herpesvirus (HHV)-6 strains segregate into two variants (HHV-6A and HHV-6B), closely related to each other but clearly and easily distinguishable. These two HHV-6 variants differ in their ability to grow in T-cell lines, have distinctive patterns of DNA restriction fragments, and show specific reactivities with some monoclonal antibodies. The degree of DNA homology between variants ranges from 97% in the most conserved region to 75% in the immediate early region 1. HHV-6B is the etiologic agent of exanthema subitum but HHV-6A has not yet been clearly associated with any human pathology. HHV-6 sequences are frequently detected by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in healthy and pathological tissues. HHV-6B is more prevalent in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and in lymphatic tissue. The prevalence of HHV-6A may be greater in some pathological conditions such as Kaposi's sarcoma, and in skin biopsies. Results so far available support the hypothesis that HHV-6 variants may have different epidemiologies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, University of Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Di Luca
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mirandola
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ravaioli
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bigoni
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cassai
mesh_terms: D005077:Exanthema Subitum / Q000453:epidemiology; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology