The detection of cardiotropic viruses in the myocardium of patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to investigate the role of cardiotropic viruses, including adenovirus, cytomegalovirus (CMV), enterovirus and parvovirus, in arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C).


BACKGROUND
Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy is characterized by a gradual loss of myocytes, inflammatory infiltrates and replacement by fatty and fibrous tissue. It has been speculated that ARVD/C is a sequela of viral myocarditis in some patients, and the role of the coxsackievirus B3 has been debated.


METHODS
Myocardial samples from 12 patients with ARVD/C were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction for the presence of cardiotropic viruses.


RESULTS
Enteroviral sequences were detected in seven patients and adenovirus type 5 in another two patients. During the same period, 215 control samples were analyzed in which only CMV (n = 2) and enterovirus (n = 1) were detected. This suggests a link between ARVD/C and the presence of viral genome (enterovirus or adenovirus) in the myocardium.


CONCLUSIONS
We report that cardiotropic viruses are more frequently identified in patients with ARVD/C than in control subjects. However, the role of these viruses in ARVD/C pathogenesis remains unknown.
Bowles
Neil E
NE
Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. nbowles@bcm.tmc.edu
Ni
Jiyuan
J
Marcus
Frank
F
Towbin
Jeffrey A
JA
D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D019571:Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000821:virology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology*; D004770:Enterovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017992:Parvovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction