title: Human herpesvirus 8 is not detectable in lesions of large plaque parapsoriasis, and in early-stage sporadic, familial, and juvenile cases of mycosis fungoides.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Human herpesvirus (HHV) 8, an essential etiologic agent of Kaposi sarcoma, is also associated with several lymphoproliferative disorders. The involvement of HHV 8 in mycosis fungoides (MF) and large plaque parapsoriasis (LPP) is controversial, with contradictory reports from various countries worldwide.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We sought to investigate the presence of the HHV 8 genome in skin lesions of LPP and early-stage sporadic, familial, and juvenile MF in patients in Israel.
  
  
  METHODS
  Archival paraffin-embedded and frozen samples from skin biopsies of untreated patients with LPP and early-stage MF performed in 1990 through 2006 were randomly collected from the department of dermatology of a tertiary medical center in central Israel. DNA was extracted, and a TaqMan-based real-time polymerase chain reaction assay specific for the K6 gene region was used to detect the HHV 8 genome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 46 biopsies were sampled from 11 patients with LPP and 35 with early-stage MF (17 adults with sporadic MF, 10 children, and 8 patients with familial MF). In all, 44 samples were negative for HHV 8 DNA; two samples from adults with sporadic MF were positive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presence of HHV 8 antibodies or virus sequences was not assessed in peripheral blood.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study, conducted in a region relatively endemic for HHV 8, support most earlier studies showing a lack of association of HHV 8 infection with LPP and sporadic adult-type MF. To our knowledge, the lack of association of HHV 8 infection with juvenile and familial MF has not been previously reported.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital, Petah Tikva, Israel.
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Amitay-Laish
authors.forename: Ronit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sarid
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ben-Amitai
authors.forename: Inna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kalt
authors.forename: Shiri Rivka
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Masa
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: David
authors.forename: Meora
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feinmesser
authors.forename: Emmilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hodak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D034201:Computers, Handheld; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D009182:Mycosis Fungoides / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology*; D010267:Parapsoriasis / Q000821:virology*; D012867:Skin / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral