title: Tissue distribution and variant characterization of human herpesvirus (HHV)-6: increased prevalence of HHV-6A in patients with multiple sclerosis.
abstract: Human herpesvirus (HHV)-6 has been associated with the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) on the basis of serologic, molecular, and histopathologic studies. This study sought to determine the distribution of HHV-6 in different MS body fluids, including serum, saliva, urine, and peripheral blood lymphocytes. The study results extend the observation of an increased frequency of HHV-6 DNA in serum of patients with MS to the unique detection of viral sequences in urine of a subset of patients with MS. Moreover, the HHV-6 identified in these cell-free compartments was predominantly the HHV-6A variant, which has been reported to be neurotropic. These results support the hypothesis that HHV-6 may contribute to the MS disease process.
authors.affiliation: Viral Immunology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Akhyani
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Berti
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Brennan
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Soldan
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Eaton
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: McFarland
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jacobson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral