title: Prevalence of human herpesvirus 8 infection in systemic lupus erythematosus.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  For decades, scientists have tried to understand the environmental factors involved in the development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), in which viral infections was included. Previous studies have identified Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to incite SLE. Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), another member of the gammaherpesvirus family, shares a lot in common with EBV. The characteristics of HHV-8 make it a well-suited candidate to trigger SLE.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the present study, serum samples from patients (n = 108) with diagnosed SLE and matched controls (n = 122) were collected, and the prevalence of HHV-8 was compared by a virus-specific nested PCR and a whole virus enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA). There was significant difference in the prevalence of HHV-8 DNA between SLE patients and healthy controls (11 of 107 vs 1 of 122, p = 0.001); significant difference was also found in the detection of HHV-8 antibodies (19 of 107 vs 2 of 122, p < 0.001).We also detected the antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus viral capsid antigen (EBV-VCA) and Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA-1). Both patients and controls showed high seroprevalence with no significant difference (106 of 107 vs 119 of 122, p = 0.625).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our finding indicated that there might be an association between HHV-8 and the development of SLE.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Clinical Laboratories, Beijing Hospital, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Shipeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Wenli
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jinming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D044967:Serum / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral