Evaluation of the role of human herpes virus 6 and 8 in parapsoriasis.
BACKGROUND
The aetiology of mycosis fungoides and parapsoriasis (which may be considered as an early stage of mycosis fungoides) remains debated. Previous recent studies have suspected the involvement of viral agents and particularly human herpes viruses (HHV).The aim of the present study was to screen for the presence of HHV-6 and HHV-8 genome in parapsoriasis samples.


METHODS
Fifty paraffin-embedded samples from skin biopsies of parapsoriasis were retrospectively collected from archival files in our Dermatology department. Total DNA was extracted from samples using the phenol-chloroform method and the presence of viral genomes was screened using real-time PCR.


RESULTS
Forty nine out of the fifty tissue samples of parapsoriasis were interpretable, they were all found negative for HHV-6 and HHV-8.


CONCLUSIONS
This study does not confirm the suspected role of HHV-6 or -8 in parapsoriasis. HHV-8 has been the most studied virus in parapsoriasis and more widely in cutaneous lymphoproliferative diseases and our results are in agreement with most of the studies which found none or few HHV-8 in more advanced stages of cutaneous lymphoproliferative diseases. Concerning HHV-6, our study is the first one investigating the presence of this virus in lesional tissue samples of patients with parapsoriasis. In conclusion, parapsoriasis does not seem to be associated with either HHV-6 or HHV-8.
Quéreux
Gaëlle
G
Skin Cancer Unit, Nantes University Hospital, Nantes, France.
André-Garnier
Elisabeth
E
Knol
Anne-Chantal
AC
Imbert-Marcille
Berthe-Marie
BM
Dréno
Brigitte
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000502:physiology*; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009182:Mycosis Fungoides / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000821:virology; D010267:Parapsoriasis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000821:virology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D055815:Young Adult