title: Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) antibodies in women from São Paulo, Brazil. Association with behavioral factors and Kaposi's sarcoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  With the spread of AIDS, many HIV-infected women have been diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), especially in Africa. Since the discovery of a novel herpesvirus as the causative agent of KS (human herpesvirus 8 - HHV-8) several seroepidemiological studies have been conducted to identify groups at risk for KS. The risk for women in Brazil has not been studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched for HHV-8 antibodies in sera obtained from a bank made up of samples from 3 groups of individuals: Group I: 163 HIV-1-infected women attended at an ambulatory clinic in 1994; Group II: 108 children born to HIV-1-infected mothers from 1990 to 1992, their antibodies reflected maternal infection, and Group III: 630 HIV-1-seronegative, healthy women. In-house immunofluorescence and Western-Blot assays based on the BCBL-1 cell line were used to detect anti-latent and anti-lytic HHV-8 antibodies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Group I had an overall frequency of antibodies of 8.6%, with a 1.2% frequency of anti-latent antibodies and an 8.0% frequency of anti-lytic antibodies. Similar results were detected in Group II, i.e., no cases with anti-latent antibodies and a 7.4% frequency of anti-lytic antibodies. In contrast, prevalences of 1.1% anti-latent antibodies and 0.3% anti-lytic antibodies were observed in Group III.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The epidemiologic pattern of HHV-8 in women from São Paulo varies according to behavioral factors, with emphasis on the sexual and blood routes of virus transmission/acquisition. Although HHV-8 anti-lytic antibodies were found in HIV-1-infected women, no case of KS was detected. Protective factors against KS are probably related to gender and/or to antiretroviral therapies introduced in Brazil since 1994.
authors.affiliation: Immunology Department, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Secretary of Health of São Paulo, Brazil. caterino@ial.sp.gov.br
authors.forename: Adele
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caterino-De-Araujo
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: de los Santos-Fortuna
authors.forename: Paulo Henrique Lage
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Carbone
authors.forename: Sandra Elisa Lopes
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Cibella
authors.forename: Abdiel Aparecido
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Moreira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique / Q000379:methods; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral