The prevalence of human herpesvirus 6 in human sensory ganglia and its co-occurrence with alpha-herpesviruses.
Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) persists in the central nervous system, but its prevalence in the peripheral nervous system, a preferred latency site for herpesviruses, has not been studied. Using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the authors determined the distribution of HHV-6 in human sensory ganglia. HHV-6 was present in 30% of trigeminal, 40% of geniculate, 25% of vestibular, and 55% of dorsal root ganglia. It co-occurred with alpha-herpesviruses (herpes simplex virus type 1 or varicella-zoster virus) in 91% of the ganglia. As HHV-6 positivity did not depend on the presence of inflammatory cells, known to harbor the virus, HHV-6 probably resides in the ganglia themselves.
Hüfner
Katharina
K
Department of Neurology, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Marchioninistrasse 23, Munich, Germany.
Arbusow
Viktor
V
Himmelein
Susanne
S
Derfuss
Tobias
T
Sinicina
Inga
I
Strupp
Michael
M
Brandt
Thomas
T
Theil
Diethilde
D
D001344:Autopsy; D017950:Ganglia, Sensory / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D006564:Herpesviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012668:Trigeminal Ganglion / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*