title: Lack of human herpesvirus 8 and Epstein-Barr virus in Kikuchi's histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis.
abstract: Kikuchi's histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis is a self-limited disorder that typically involves the cervical lymph nodes of young women. Although a viral etiology has been postulated, a definitive viral agent has not been identified. Recent reports have suggested that human herpesvirus 8 (HHV 8) or Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may play an etiologic role. We investigated the presence of HHV 8 and EBV in archival tissue from 34 cases of Kikuchi's histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis. We examined 29 cases for HHV 8 using a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on paraffin-embedded or frozen tissue, and 24 cases for EBV RNA using in situ hybridization (ISH) for EBER1. Controls included reactive lymph nodes from 8 adult women presenting with cervical or axillary lymphadenopathy. The study patients included 7 men and 27 women with a mean age of 28 years. All patients were previously healthy without evidence of immunocompromise and presented with cervical, axillary, or inguinal lymphadenopathy. Two cases exhibited EBV RNA by ISH; this was confirmed by PCR for EBV DNA. HHV 8 DNA was not amplified by nested PCR in any of the cases of Kikuchi's histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis or reactive lymph nodes; control PCR demonstrated the presence of amplifiable DNA in all cases. These findings suggest that HHV 8 and EBV do not play causative roles in Kikuchi's histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Stanford University Medical Center, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Tracy I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: Carol D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: James L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Zehnder
authors.forename: Roger A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Warnke
authors.forename: Ronald F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Dorfman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000235:genetics; D020042:Histiocytic Necrotizing Lymphadenitis / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral