Molecular evidence of organ-related transmission of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus or human herpesvirus-8 in transplant patients.
In transplant patients, Kaposi sarcoma (KS)-associated herpesvirus or human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) infection is associated with the development of KS, primary effusion lymphoma and Castleman disease. Whether HHV-8 is either reactivated in the recipient or transmitted by the donor has been investigated so far only by serologic studies. Thus, we addressed the issue of HHV-8 transmission in the transplantation setting by molecular methods. We exploited the high level variability of the orf-K1 gene and the polymorphism of the orf-73 gene of the HHV-8 genome to assess the genetic relatedness of the HHV-8 strains identified in the posttransplant KS lesions that developed, simultaneously, 20 months after transplantation, in 2 recipients of twin kidneys from the same cadaver donor. The 100% identity of nucleotide sequence of the most variable viral region and the presence of the same, single orf-73 type in both patients provides strong molecular evidence of organ-related transmission of HHV-8 in the setting of transplantation.
Luppi
M
M
Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Hematology, University of Modena and Division of Nephrology, University of Parma, Italy.
Barozzi
P
P
Santagostino
G
G
Trovato
R
R
Schulz
T F
TF
Marasca
R
R
Bottalico
D
D
Bignardi
L
L
Torelli
G
G
D001483:Base Sequence; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000821:virology*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014775:Virus Activation