title: Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) detected by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in HIV patients with or without Kaposi's sarcoma. An analytic cross-sectional study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a common neoplastic disease in AIDS patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) infection in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, with or without KS manifestations and correlate HHV-8 detection with KS staging.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analytic cross-sectional study conducted in a public tertiary-level university hospital in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  Antibodies against HHV-8 lytic-phase antigens were detected by means of the immunofluorescence assay. HHV-8 DNA was detected in the patient samples through a nested polymerase chain reaction (nested PCR) that amplified a region of open reading frame (ORF)-26 of HHV-8.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Anti-HHV-8 antibodies were detected in 30% of non-KS patients and 100% of patients with KS. Furthermore, the HHV-8 DNA detection rates observed in HIV-positive patients with KS were 42.8% in serum, 95.4% in blood samples and 100% in skin biopsies; and in patients without KS, the detection rate was 4% in serum. Out of the 16 serum samples from patients with KS-AIDS who were classified as stage II, two were positive (12.5%); and out of the 33 samples from patients in stage IV, 19 (57.6%) were positive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We observed an association between HHV-8 detection and disease staging, which was higher in the serum of patients in stage IV. This suggests that detection of HHV-8 DNA in serum could be very useful for clinical assessment of patients with KS and for monitoring disease progression.
authors.affiliation: PhD. Biomedical Scientist, Virology Research Center, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paula Renata Lima
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: PhD. Biomedical Scientist, Virology Research Center, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Kleber Juvenal Silva
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Farias
authors.affiliation: MSc. Biologist, Virology Research Center, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maira Gabriela Martins
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: PhD. Veterinarian, Virology Research Center, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Patrícia Pereira da Silva de
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Freitas
authors.affiliation: MD, PhD. Associate Professor, Virology Research Center, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Benedito Antônio Lopes da
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Fonseca
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001706:Biopsy; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000821:virology; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral