A high circulating copy number of HHV-6 due to chromosomal integration in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
We report a case of a 3.5-year-old female with a very high copy number of human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) detected by PCR in blood during acute lymphoblastic leukemia induction therapy. The patient was unsuccessfully treated with antiviral drugs. HHV-6 genome was shown to be constitutively integrated into chromosome 22q-tel, likely to be inherited from the mother who was found to carry high HHV-6 copy number. This case highlights the importance of excluding HHV-6 chromosomal integration before diagnosing HHV-6 infection or reactivation in immunocompromised patients.
Lohi
Olli
O
Pediatric Research Centre, University of Tampere Medical School and Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland. olli.lohi@uta.fi
Arola
Mikko
M
Lautenschlager
Irmeli
I
Nacheva
Elisabeth P
EP
Vettenranta
Kim
K
D002675:Child, Preschool; D002892:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 22 / Q000235:genetics; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012074:Remission Induction; D016662:Virus Integration / Q000235:genetics*
D004279:DNA, Viral