Individuals with inherited chromosomally integrated human herpes virus 6 (ciHHV-6) have functionally active HHV-6 specific T-cell immunity.
To evaluate the human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6) -specific immune response in individuals with chromosomally integrated HHV-6 (ciHHV-6), we measured HHV-6-antigen-specific cytokine responses (interferon-γ, interleukin-2, tumour necrosis factor-α) in T cells by flow cytometry in 12 and 16 individuals with and without ciHHV-6, respectively. All individuals with ciHHV-6 showed HHV-6-specific T cells with higher frequencies of HHV-6-specific CD8(+) cells (0.03-14.93, median 2.15% of CD8(+) cells) compared with non-ciHHV-6 (0.0-10.67, median 0.36%, p 0.026). The observed increased HHV-6-specific functionally active responses in individuals with ciHHV-6 clearly disprove speculations on immune tolerance in ciHHV-6 and indicate clinical and immunological implications of ciHHV-6.
University Children's Hospital, Eberhard-Karls University, Tuebingen, Germany; Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. Electronic address: volker.strenger@medunigraz.at.
V
V
Strenger
University Children's Hospital, Eberhard-Karls University, Tuebingen, Germany.
S
S
Kayser
University Children's Hospital, Eberhard-Karls University, Tuebingen, Germany.
K-E
KE
Witte
Institute Cardiac Diagnostics and Therapy, Berlin, Germany.
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D
Lassner
Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
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W
Schwinger
Institute of Medical Virology, Eberhard-Karls University, Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany.
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G
Jahn
Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
C
C
Urban
University Children's Hospital, Eberhard-Karls University, Tuebingen, Germany; Dr von Hauner University Children's Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
T
T
Feuchtinger
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002877:Chromosomes, Human; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019349:Roseolovirus Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016662:Virus Integration; D055815:Young Adult
D016207:Cytokines
Chromosomal integration; HHV-6; T-cell response; U54; cytomegalovirus