Prevalence of human herpesvirus-8 among HIV-infected patients, intravenous drug users and the general population in Iran

The prevalence of human herpesvirus 8 in normal, premalignant, and malignant cervical samples of Iranian women

BACKGROUND

Regard to this fact that the main transmission route of HPV and HHV-8 is via sexual activity, it is reasonable to speculate that coinfection of HPV and HHV-8 may have been played an important role in the development of cervical cancer. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of HHV-8 and the frequency of HPV and HHV-8 coinfection in cervical samples of patients with cervical cancer and healthy individuals.

METHODS

In total, 364 samples from 61 patients with cervical cancer, 124 women with premalignant lesions, and 179 healthy individuals were investigated by nested-PCR.

RESULTS

The frequency of HHV-8 was found to be 22.9%, 17.7%, and 14.5% in cervical cancer, premalignant lesions, and normal specimens, respectively (P = 0.308). The overall prevalence of coinfection between HHV-8 and HPV was shown to be 16.2%. The HPV prevalence was higher in HHV-8 positive samples than HHV-8 negative specimens in all three studied groups and this difference was reached a statistically significant level (P = 0.002). However, no significant differences were found between HHV-8 positivity and HPV genotypes (P = 0.08).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results showed the higher rate of HHV-8 genome detection in cervical cancer group than control group. However, future studies with larger sample sizes and evaluation of expression of HHV-8 proteins are warranted.

Seroprevalence of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 and Human Herpesvirus Type 8 among Prostate Cancer Patients Compared to Cancer-Free Men

Background: As one of the most prevalent cancers in men, prostate cancer is a condition with multiple causes. Viral infections have been identified as one of the major sources of elevated incidence of prostate cancer. Objectives: The purpose of this research was to assess the association of the risk of prostate cancer and its aggressiveness with seropositivity of herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) and/or human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8). Methods: Totally, 103 men with prostate cancer as cases and 81 healthy individuals as controls were included in this case-control analysis and provided a serum sample. The specific IgG antibodies against HSV-2 and HHV-8 were screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). To determine the association between HSV-2, HHV-8, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, and demographic variables with incidence of prostate cancer, univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were applied. Results: The results of the univariate logistic regression model showed a statistically significant association between HSV-2 and HHV-8 seropositivity, PSA level, age, and smoking with prostate cancer incidence (P ≤ 0.20). The multivariate logistic regression model results after adjusting for the potential confounding variables showed a significant statistical association between the mean of PSA level [adjusted odds ratio (OR): 3.44; 95% CI: 2.15 - 5.51; P < 0.001) and incidence of prostate cancer. Moreover, the results of univariate and multivariate logistic regression model showed a significant statistical association between age [adjusted OR: 0.88; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.81 - 0.95; P = 0.001] and HSV-2 and also significant statistical association was found between PSA (adjusted OR: 1.02; 95% CI: 1.005 - 1.03; P = 0.006) and HHV-8. Conclusions: Although the seroprevalence of HSV-2 and HHV-8 was higher in patients with prostate cancer than in the control group, it cannot be concluded that there is a significant association between the seropositivity of these viruses and prostate cancer incidence. However, the findings showed a significant statistical association between age and seropositivity of HSV-2 and also a significant statistical association between PSA levels and seropositivity of HHV-8.

First report of HHV-8 viral load and seroprevalence of major blood-borne viruses in Iranian patients with systemic sclerosis

BACKGROUND

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by autoimmune manifestations, and viral infections may have a key role in the development and progression of it. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of major blood-borne viruses and HHV-8 viral load in Iranian SSc patients.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 90 patients with a confirmed history of SSc and 90 healthy blood donors were enrolled. The frequency of HHV-8, CMV, EBV, HIV, HBV, and HCV antibodies and HHV-8 viral load were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and real-time PCR assay, respectively.

RESULTS

HHV-8 IgG antibody was diagnosed in 61 (67.8%) patients and 3 (3.3%) healthy individuals (p<0.0001), but its genomic DNA was not detected in the patients or healthy blood donors. CMV and EBV antibodies were detected in 100% and 88.9% of SSc patients without any significant difference with healthy population (p>0.05). None of the patients or healthy population was positive for HBsAg and HIVAb; however, HCVAb was detected in two patients.

CONCLUSION

According to the results, HHV-8 antibody was uniquely increased in SSc population while its frequency in healthy population was very low. Since none of the SSc patients were positive for HHV-8 genomic DNA, the high prevalence of HHV-8 antibody in this group was not related to the real history of infection. Therefore, antibody-mediated epitope mimicry can play a role to get the high rate of seropositivity and lead to pathogeneses of SSc. Besides, CMV and EBV viral load monitoring in SSc patients can help the physician to prescribe the viral drugs to suppress the viral replication and avoid the crucial effect of reactivation.

Genetic diversity and phylogeographic analysis of human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8) in two distant regions of Argentina: Association with the genetic ancestry of the population

BACKGROUND

The genetic diversity of persistent infectious agents, such as HHV-8, correlates closely with the migration of modern humans out of East Africa which makes them useful to trace human migrations. However, there is scarce data about the evolutionary history of HHV-8 particularly in multiethnic Latin American populations.

OBJECTIVES

The aims of this study were to characterize the genetic diversity and the phylogeography of HHV-8 in two distant geographic regions of Argentina, and to establish potential associations with pathogenic conditions and the genetic ancestry of the population.

STUDY DESIGN

A total of 101 HIV-1 infected subjects, 93 Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) patients and 411 blood donors were recruited in the metropolitan (MET) and north-western regions of Argentina (NWA). HHV-8 DNA was detected by ORF-26 PCR in whole blood, saliva and FFPE tissues. Then, ORF-26 and ORF-K1 were analyzed for subtype assignment. Mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome haplogroups, as well as autosomal ancestry markers were evaluated in samples in which subtypes could be assigned. Phylogeographic analysis was performed in the ORF-K1 sequences from this study combined with 388 GenBank sequences.

RESULTS

HHV-8 was detected in 50.7%, 59.2% and 8% of samples from HIV-1 infected subjects, KS patients and blood donors, respectively. ORF-K1 phylogenetic analyses showed that subtypes A (A1-A5), B1, C (C1-C3) and F were present in 46.9%, 6.25%, 43.75% and 3.1% of cases, respectively. Analyses of ORF-26 fragment revealed that 81.95% of strains were subtypes A/C followed by J, B2, R, and K. The prevalence of subtype J was more commonly observed among KS patients when compared to the other groups. Among KS patients, subtype A/C was more commonly detected in MET whereas subtype J was the most frequent in NWA. Subtypes A/C was significantly associated with Native American maternal haplogroups (p = 0.004), whereas subtype J was related to non-Native American haplogroups (p < 0.0001). Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and Latin America were the most probable locations from where HHV-8 was introduced to Argentina.

CONCLUSIONS

These results give evidence of the geographic circulation of HHV-8 in Argentina, suggest the association of ORF-26 subtype J with KS development and provide new insights about its relationship with ancient and modern human migrations and identify the possible origins of this virus in Argentina.

Towards Better Understanding of KSHV Life Cycle: from Transcription and Posttranscriptional Regulations to Pathogenesis

Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), also known as human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8), is etiologically linked to the development of Kaposi’s sarcoma, primary effusion lymphoma, and multicentric Castleman’s disease. These malignancies often occur in immunosuppressed individuals, making KSHV infection-associated diseases an increasing global health concern with persistence of the AIDS epidemic. KSHV exhibits biphasic life cycles between latent and lytic infection and extensive transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression. As a member of the herpesvirus family, KSHV has evolved many strategies to evade the host immune response, which help the virus establish a successful lifelong infection. In this review, we summarize the current research status on the biology of latent and lytic viral infection, the regulation of viral life cycles and the related pathogenesis.

Prevalence of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus among intravenous drug users: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Intravenous drug users (IDUs) have been demonstrated to be highly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Nevertheless, the prevalence of Kaposi's sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV), an important co-infected agent with HIV, among this population remained obscure. We conducted a systematic review on the epidemiological features of KSHV among IDUs worldwide. Eligible studies were retrieved from 6 electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI and Wanfang). We calculated the pooled prevalence and 95% confidence interval (CI) overall and among subgroups using either random-effects model or fixed-effects model depending on between-study heterogeneity. The potential publication bias was assessed by the Egger's test. A meta-regression analysis was performed to explore the sources of heterogeneity. Finally, twenty-two studies with a total sample of 7881 IDUs were included in the analysis. The pooled prevalence of KSHV was 14.71% (95% CI 11.12%-19.46%) among IDUs. Specifically, KSHV prevalence was 10.86% (95% CI 6.95%-16.96%) in HIV-negative IDUs, and 13.56% (95% CI 10.57%-17.38%) in HIV-positive IDUs. Moreover, prevalence among IDUs from the three continents involved in the current study was similar: 16.10% (95%CI 7.73%-33.54%) in Asia; 14.22% (95%CI 8.96%-22.57%) in Europe and 14.06% (95%CI 11.38%-17.37%) in America. Globally, IDUs are at higher risk of the KSHV infection when compared with the general population, regardless of geographical region or HIV-infection status.

MDM2 gene polymorphisms and risk of classic Kaposi's sarcoma among Iranian patients

A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the promoter region of MDM2 (SNP309T>G, rs2279744) has been shown to increase the expression of the MDM2 protein in various cancer types. However, only one study has analyzed the role of the MDM2 polymorphism in the development of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). The association of MDM2 SNP309 with classic KS risk was evaluated in 79 Iranian patients with classic KS and 123 healthy controls. The MDM2 SNP309 was genotyped using PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism methods. No significant correlation was found between the SNP309 polymorphism in MDM2 promoter and classic KS risk. There was no significant correlation between gender and disease stage. However, a significant association was found between SNP309 GG genotype and younger age (≤50 years) (odds ratio 9.5, 95% confidence intervals 1.5-60, p = 0.03). Our findings support no major role for the MDM2 SNP309 in KS development although it might influence the clinical outcome of KS in younger patients.

Molecular typing of human herpesvirus 8 among HIV positive in comparison to HIV-negative individuals in Iran

It is still unclear whether different HHV-8 genotypes may have different pathogenic and tumorigenic properties associated with a diverse rate of disease progression. In some areas where genotype C was found to be prominent among classic KS patients, genotype A was shown to be more frequent among AIDS-associated KS patients. Genotype C was previously reported to be widespread in Iran, with genotype A being less frequent among patients with classic KS although no data are available with regards to the HHV-8 genotyping among Iranian HIV-infected patients. In order to analyze HHV-8 genotypes (ORF K1), six HIV-infected patients (with or without KS), and 22 HIV-negative subjects (classic/iatrogenic KS patients and IVDUs) were investigated using nested PCR. Genotype A was detected more frequently among HIV-infected patients with or without KS (three out of six) whereas genotype C was found more common among HIV-negative subjects including classic/iatrogenic KS patients and IVDSs (21 out of 22), and this difference was statistically significant (P = 0.044). In conclusion, our data further support the dominancy of HHV-8 genotype C in Iranian general population. Moreover, genotype A was more common among HIV-infected patients with or without KS. J. Med. Virol. 89:703-709, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.