title: Is there a causal relationship between HSV-1 and pemphigus vulgaris?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pemphigus vulgaris is a chronic autoimmune bullous disease, the initiation of autoimmunity has been linked to viral infections. In 1974, Krain first reported the association between herpes simplex virus and pemphigus vulgaris, since then, there have been few such studies, prompting us to examine this link.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We randomly selected 15 cases of PV, the diagnosis was confirmed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained slides-2-micron sections were deparaffinized and rehydrated to be processed by immunohistochemistry, antigen retrieval was performed with 0.1 % sodium citrate, pH 6.2, endogenous peroxidase was inactivated with 0.9 % H2O2, and washes were performed with distilled water. Finally the slides were allowed to stand for 5 min in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). The tissues were incubated for 45 min with polyclonal anti-HSV-I, (1:150, Dako Corporation, Carpinteria, CA). The MACH 1 system was applied for 15 min to visualize the reaction using 3,3'-diaminobenzidine-H2O2 (both from Biocare Medical) as substrate under a microscope. The tissues were counterstained with Lillie-Mayer's hematoxylin (Biocare Medical). We failed to observe positivity for HSV-1 in any of the 15 PV cases that were processed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is not possible to determine whether HSV-PV is a causal relationship; most studies are case reports. Thus, we propose research studies with greater methodological weight to determine the involvement of HSV in the pathogenesis of PV and demonstrate that the relationship between HSV-1 and PV is a trigger at the beginning of the disease and has an etiologic function in its pathogenesis or that it is merely a coinfection due to the immunosuppression of patients with PV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Dr. Manuel Gea Gonzalez General Hospital, Calzada de Tlalpan 4800, Sección XVI Delegación Tlalpan, C.P 14080 Mexico, D.F., Mexico.
authors.forename: María Elisa
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Vega-Memíje
authors.affiliation: Molecular Pathology Laboratory, National Institute of Pediatrics, Mexico City, Mexico ; Southern Associated Pathologists "Specialists in Pathology Laboratories", Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Francisco Javier
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: García-Vázquez
authors.affiliation: Pathology Laboratory, Faculty of Dentistry, Juárez University of Durango State, Durango, Dgo Mexico.
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Cuevas-González
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Dr. Manuel Gea Gonzalez General Hospital, Calzada de Tlalpan 4800, Sección XVI Delegación Tlalpan, C.P 14080 Mexico, D.F., Mexico.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Lobato
authors.affiliation: Southern Associated Pathologists "Specialists in Pathology Laboratories", Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Marco Antonio
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Aguilar-Urbano
keywords: Autoimmune bullous disease; HSV-1; Pemphigus vulgaris