Human herpesvirus 8 DNA sequences in blistering skin from patients with pemphigus.
BACKGROUND
Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) has been detected in Kaposi sarcoma (KS) and other lesions in patients both seropositive and seronegative for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Kaposi sarcoma has been reported to develop in a disproportionate number of patients with pemphigus. Since HHV-8 is so strongly associated with KS, we wondered whether HHV-8 is present in pemphigus lesions from patients without KS or HIV infection. Pemphigus lesions and skin from healthy individuals were coded in a blinded fashion. Tissue-extracted DNA was tested using polymerase chain reaction, Southern blot hybridization, and automated sequencing of the polymerase chain reaction products for the presence of HHV-8 DNA. Six patients had pemphigus foliaceus, 6 had pemphigus vulgaris, and 2 had KS; 10 healthy individuals were used as controls. All 24 patients were HIV seronegative.


METHODS
Lesional skin from 4 of the 6 patients with pemphigus vulgaris, all 6 of the patients with pemphigus foliaceus, and both positive controls (KS) tested positive for HHV-8 DNA. Furthermore, the HHV-8 DNA sequences for KS330(233) differed between all 6 DNA specimens from pemphigus foliaceus, while 3 of the 4 DNA specimens from pemphigus vulgaris were identical. However, HHV-8 DNA was absent in all normal human skin analyzed.


CONCLUSIONS
This report expands the spectrum of lesions found to contain HHV-8 DNA sequences and suggests that HHV-8 might have trophism for pemphigus lesions.
Memar
O M
OM
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77555-1019, USA.
Rady
P L
PL
Goldblum
R M
RM
Yen
A
A
Tyring
S K
SK
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001482:Base Composition; D001483:Base Sequence; D001768:Blister / Q000821:virology*; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification; D018023:HIV Seronegativity; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000821:virology; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010392:Pemphigus / Q000145:classification / Q000821:virology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000821:virology; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D012867:Skin / Q000821:virology*
D004279:DNA, Viral