Analysis of shedding of 3 beta-herpesviruses in saliva from patients with connective tissue diseases.
BACKGROUND
Whether an association exists between infection with beta -herpesviruses and connective tissue diseases remains unclear, as are the mechanisms for the regulation of these infections in the salivary glands.


METHODS
Human herpesvirus (HHV)-7 was isolated and viral DNA was quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in serially collected saliva samples, to determine whether viral load correlated with infectivity. Then, to examine the role played by beta -herpesviruses in connective tissue diseases, cytomegalovirus, HHV-6, and HHV-7 DNA loads were examined by real-time PCR in serially collected saliva samples from 21 patients with connective tissue diseases.


RESULTS
Although subjects with frequent HHV-7 shedding were more likely to have a high viral load than were other subjects, high viral loads were detected in saliva samples from a portion of the subjects with low viral shedding rates. No significant difference between the quantity of HHV-7 DNA in saliva samples from which active virus was isolated and that amplified from samples without detectable virus was observed. Patients with adult-onset Still disease consistently had high HHV-7 DNA loads, in contrast to patients with other connective tissue diseases (P=.0003) and healthy adults (P=.0224). The mean HHV-6 (P=.012) and HHV-7 (P<.0001) DNA loads in patients with connective tissue diseases were lower than those in healthy adults.


CONCLUSIONS
These data suggest that a number of host factors in patients with adult-onset Still disease may function to accelerate HHV-7 replication in the salivary glands.
Yoshikawa
Tetsushi
T
Department of Pediatrics, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan. tetsushi@fujita-hu.ac.jp
Ihira
Masaru
M
Taguchi
Hiroaki
H
Yoshida
Shunji
S
Asano
Yoshizo
Y
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003240:Connective Tissue Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D016199:Herpesvirus 7, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012463:Saliva / Q000821:virology*
D004279:DNA, Viral