Seroconversion to human herpesvirus 6 following liver transplantation is a marker of cytomegalovirus disease.
Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infection is common after transplantation; HHV-6 is known to interact with other viruses and induce immunosuppression. Whether HHV-6 plays a role in the occurrence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection after transplantation was investigated. In a cohort of 247 liver transplant recipients, HHV-6 seroconversion was identified as a significant risk factor for development of symptomatic CMV infection (P < .001), including CMV organ involvement (P < .001), even in the presence of the other significant risk factors: D+/R- CMV serologic status (P < .001) or use of OKT3 after transplantation (P = .002). Subgroup analysis indicated that HHV-6 seroconversion was significantly associated with symptomatic CMV infection in the D+/R+ but not in the D+/R- CMV serologic group (P < .001 and P = .11, respectively). These results indicate that HHV-6 seroconversion is a marker for CMV disease after transplantation and suggest that additional studies using more sensitive diagnostic techniques are warranted to determine the relationship between HHV-6 and CMV infection after transplantation.
Dockrell
D H
DH
Division of Infectious Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA.
Prada
J
J
Jones
M F
MF
Patel
R
R
Badley
A D
AD
Harmsen
W S
WS
Ilstrup
D M
DM
Wiesner
R H
RH
Krom
R A
RA
Smith
T F
TF
Paya
C V
CV
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D015415:Biomarkers