title: Complement C4 deficiency and HLA homozygosity in patients with frequent intraoral herpes simplex virus type 1 infections.
abstract: Three consecutive patients with no apparent immunodeficiency who had frequent intraoral herpes simplex type 1 recurrences, a rare complication of herpes simplex virus infection, were found to have a total deficiency of either the A or B isotype of the complement component C4 and to be homozygous for the studied HLA antigens. A combination of HLA homozygosity, which may lead to impaired T cell recognition of viral peptides, and deficiency in the classical complement pathway, which can compromise virus neutralization, may predispose to severe and frequent herpes simplex virus infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Helsinki University Central Hospital Helsinki, Finland. mikko.seppanen@hus.fi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seppänen
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Lokki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Timonen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lappalainen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jarva
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Järvinen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sarna
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Valtonen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003181:Complement C4 / Q000172:deficiency*; D005260:Female; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D015234:HLA-A Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D015235:HLA-B Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D015236:HLA-C Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006720:Homozygote; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D003181:Complement C4; D006680:HLA Antigens; D015234:HLA-A Antigens; D015235:HLA-B Antigens; D015236:HLA-C Antigens; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens