title: Pregnancy and human herpesvirus 8 reactivation in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected women.
abstract: To investigate the impact of pregnancy on human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) reactivation in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected women, the HHV-8 DNA presence and load were analyzed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and cervicovaginal secretions (CVSs) from 15 pregnant women coinfected with HIV-1 and HHV-8. HHV-8 detection was analyzed in relation to anti-HHV-8 antibodies and HIV-1-related parameters. Nucleotide sequence analysis of an ORFK1 hypervariable region of the HHV-8 strains was performed. HHV-8 was detected in maternal PBMCs (5/15 women) from the second trimester and in CVSs (5/15 women) mainly from the third trimester. The HHV-8 load significantly increased late in pregnancy in both maternal compartments and was associated with a significant increase in HIV-1 shedding in the genital tract. Antilytic antibodies were significantly more common in HHV-8 DNA-positive women. An elevated HHV-8 load was found in the PBMCs of an infant born to a mother with large amounts of HHV-8 in both compartments at delivery. Different ORFK1 subtypes were found in maternal samples, whereas the same subtype was identified in the mother-child pair. These data suggest that pregnancy may induce HHV-8 replication in HIV-1-infected women. An augmented HHV-8 load may, in turn, influence mother-to-child transmission, since one of the HIV-1-infected mothers with HHV-8 reactivation transmitted her ORFK1 subtype to the infant, who showed a high level of HHV-8 viremia indicative of a primary infection. This finding documents for the first time the perinatal transmission of a specific HHV-8 subtype. Vertical transmission may thus play a role in HHV-8 spread also in areas of subendemicity among HIV-1-infected women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Surgical Sciences, Oncology Section, University of Padova, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lisco
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barbierato
authors.forename: Josè R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Fiore
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gasperini
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Favia
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Volpe
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chironna
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pastore
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chieco-Bianchi
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Calabrò
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000821:virology*; D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D015497:HIV-1; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000821:virology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000821:virology*; D014775:Virus Activation; D017201:Virus Shedding
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral