Persistent human herpesvirus 8 viremia before Kaposi's sarcoma development in a liver transplant recipient.
HHV8 DNA has been detected in essentially all Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) lesions investigated, including those associated with transplantation. However, the possibility of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) detection in serum before appearing in the tumor is unknown. We therefore studied the natural history of HHV8 infection in a liver transplant recipient who developed KS 9 months after receiving the hepatic allograft. The presence of HHV8 DNA was retrospectively analyzed by using polymerase chain reaction in frozen stored follow-up serum specimens and KS tissues (skin and lymph node biopsies). Although KS was diagnosed the day +279 posttransplant by histopathological examination of KS tissues, retrospective analysis showed that HHV8 DNA was present in all successive serum specimens taken from the day +119 onward. Accordingly, asymptomatic and persistent HHV8 viremia may precede the appearance of typical KS lesions. Monitoring transplant recipients for HHV8 could be useful for developing therapeutic and prophylactic strategies.
Servicio de Microbiología Diagnóstica, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
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Tenorio
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de Ory
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Torre-Cisneros
D001706:Biopsy; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000821:virology; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D014766:Viremia / Q000209:etiology*
D004279:DNA, Viral