Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1993 May;31(5):1262–1267. doi: 10.1128/jcm.31.5.1262-1267.1993

Human herpesvirus 6 DNA in peripheral blood cells and saliva from immunocompetent individuals.

R W Cone 1, M L Huang 1, R Ashley 1, L Corey 1
PMCID: PMC262915  PMID: 8388889

Abstract

Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) genome equivalents were quantitated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and saliva from 20 healthy individuals by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Nineteen of 20 subjects (95%) harbored HHV-6 DNA: 18 (90%) had HHV-6 in their PBMCs and 18 had HHV-6 in their saliva. Quantitative PCR revealed HHV-6 DNA levels ranging from negative to 4,000 HHV-6 genome equivalents per 10(6) PBMCs and from negative to 200,000 HHV-6 genome equivalents per ml of saliva. Longitudinal saliva samples from 15 HHV-6-seropositive subjects revealed salivary HHV-6 DNA persistence in 13 subjects. HHV-6 antibodies were detected in 17 of 19 subjects, with titers ranging from 1:400 to 1:51,200 (geometric mean titer, 1:2,500). Antibody titers did not correlate with HHV-6 DNA levels in PBMCs or saliva (P = 0.27 and P = 0.44, respectively). One subject with persistent HHV-6 DNA lacked detectable HHV-6 antibodies. The high prevalence of HHV-6 DNA in PBMCs and saliva supports the concept that HHV-6 exists at these sites in normal individuals.

Full text

PDF
1262

Images in this article

1264Image
on p.1264

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Abbott M. A., Poiesz B. J., Byrne B. C., Kwok S., Sninsky J. J., Ehrlich G. D. Enzymatic gene amplification: qualitative and quantitative methods for detecting proviral DNA amplified in vitro. J Infect Dis. 1988 Dec;158(6):1158–1169. doi: 10.1093/infdis/158.6.1158. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Ablashi D. V., Salahuddin S. Z., Josephs S. F., Balachandran N., Krueger G. R., Gallo R. C. Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) (short review). In Vivo. 1991 May-Jun;5(3):193–199. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Agut H., Guetard D., Collandre H., Dauguet C., Montagnier L., Miclea J. M., Baurmann H., Gessain A. Concomitant infection by human herpesvirus 6, HTLV-I, and HIV-2. Lancet. 1988 Mar 26;1(8587):712–712. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)91520-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Asano Y., Nakashima T., Yoshikawa T., Suga S., Yazaki T. Severity of human herpesvirus-6 viremia and clinical findings in infants with exanthem subitum. J Pediatr. 1991 Jun;118(6):891–895. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(05)82200-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Berneman Z. N., Gallo R. C., Ablashi D. V., Frenkel N., Katsafanas G., Kramarsky B., Brus I. Human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) strain JI: independent confirmation of HHV-7. J Infect Dis. 1992 Sep;166(3):690–691. doi: 10.1093/infdis/166.3.690. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Black J. B., Sanderlin K. C., Goldsmith C. S., Gary H. E., Lopez C., Pellett P. E. Growth properties of human herpesvirus-6 strain Z29. J Virol Methods. 1989 Nov;26(2):133–145. doi: 10.1016/0166-0934(89)90143-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Buchwald D., Freedman A. S., Ablashi D. V., Sullivan J. L., Caligiuri M., Weinberg D. S., Hall C. G., Ashley R. L., Saxinger C., Balachandran N. A chronic "postinfectious" fatigue syndrome associated with benign lymphoproliferation, B-cell proliferation, and active replication of human herpesvirus-6. J Clin Immunol. 1990 Nov;10(6):335–344. doi: 10.1007/BF00917479. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Buchwald D., Hooton T. M., Ashley R. L. Prevalence of herpesvirus, human T-lymphotropic virus type 1, and treponemal infections in Southeast Asian refugees. J Med Virol. 1992 Nov;38(3):195–199. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890380308. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Cesario T. C., Poland J. D., Wulff H., Chin T. D., Wenner H. A. Six years experience with herpes simplex virus in a children's home. Am J Epidemiol. 1969 Nov;90(5):416–422. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a121087. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Chehab F. F., Doherty M., Cai S. P., Kan Y. W., Cooper S., Rubin E. M. Detection of sickle cell anaemia and thalassaemias. Nature. 1987 Sep 24;329(6137):293–294. doi: 10.1038/329293b0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Cone R. W., Hobson A. C., Palmer J., Remington M., Corey L. Extended duration of herpes simplex virus DNA in genital lesions detected by the polymerase chain reaction. J Infect Dis. 1991 Oct;164(4):757–760. doi: 10.1093/infdis/164.4.757. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Conner B. J., Reyes A. A., Morin C., Itakura K., Teplitz R. L., Wallace R. B. Detection of sickle cell beta S-globin allele by hybridization with synthetic oligonucleotides. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Jan;80(1):278–282. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.1.278. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Downing R. G., Sewankambo N., Serwadda D., Honess R., Crawford D., Jarrett R., Griffin B. E. Isolation of human lymphotropic herpesviruses from Uganda. Lancet. 1987 Aug 15;2(8555):390–390. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(87)92403-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Enders G., Biber M., Meyer G., Helftenbein E. Prevalence of antibodies to human herpesvirus 6 in different age groups, in children with exanthema subitum, other acute exanthematous childhood diseases, Kawasaki syndrome, and acute infections with other herpesviruses and HIV. Infection. 1990 Jan-Feb;18(1):12–15. doi: 10.1007/BF01644173. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Fox J. D., Briggs M., Ward P. A., Tedder R. S. Human herpesvirus 6 in salivary glands. Lancet. 1990 Sep 8;336(8715):590–593. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(90)93392-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Frenkel N., Schirmer E. C., Wyatt L. S., Katsafanas G., Roffman E., Danovich R. M., June C. H. Isolation of a new herpesvirus from human CD4+ T cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Jan;87(2):748–752. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.2.748. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Gopal M. R., Thomson B. J., Fox J., Tedder R. S., Honess R. W. Detection by PCR of HHV-6 and EBV DNA in blood and oropharynx of healthy adults and HIV-seropositives. Lancet. 1990 Jun 30;335(8705):1598–1599. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(90)91433-b. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Harnett G. B., Farr T. J., Pietroboni G. R., Bucens M. R. Frequent shedding of human herpesvirus 6 in saliva. J Med Virol. 1990 Feb;30(2):128–130. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890300209. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Hoffmann A., Kirn E., Kuerten A., Sander C., Krueger G. R., Ablashi D. V. Active human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) infection associated with Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In Vivo. 1991 May-Jun;5(3):265–269. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Irving W. L., Cunningham A. L. Serological diagnosis of infection with human herpesvirus type 6. BMJ. 1990 Jan 20;300(6718):156–159. doi: 10.1136/bmj.300.6718.156. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Jarrett R. F., Clark D. A., Josephs S. F., Onions D. E. Detection of human herpesvirus-6 DNA in peripheral blood and saliva. J Med Virol. 1990 Sep;32(1):73–76. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890320113. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Kondo K., Hayakawa Y., Mori H., Sato S., Kondo T., Takahashi K., Minamishima Y., Takahashi M., Yamanishi K. Detection by polymerase chain reaction amplification of human herpesvirus 6 DNA in peripheral blood of patients with exanthem subitum. J Clin Microbiol. 1990 May;28(5):970–974. doi: 10.1128/jcm.28.5.970-974.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Lawrence G. L., Chee M., Craxton M. A., Gompels U. A., Honess R. W., Barrell B. G. Human herpesvirus 6 is closely related to human cytomegalovirus. J Virol. 1990 Jan;64(1):287–299. doi: 10.1128/jvi.64.1.287-299.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Levy J. A., Ferro F., Greenspan D., Lennette E. T. Frequent isolation of HHV-6 from saliva and high seroprevalence of the virus in the population. Lancet. 1990 May 5;335(8697):1047–1050. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(90)92628-u. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Okuno T., Takahashi K., Balachandra K., Shiraki K., Yamanishi K., Takahashi M., Baba K. Seroepidemiology of human herpesvirus 6 infection in normal children and adults. J Clin Microbiol. 1989 Apr;27(4):651–653. doi: 10.1128/jcm.27.4.651-653.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Pietroboni G. R., Harnett G. B., Bucens M. R., Honess R. W. Isolation of human herpesvirus 6 from saliva. Lancet. 1988 May 7;1(8593):1059–1059. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)91884-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Pietroboni G. R., Harnett G. B., Farr T. J., Bucens M. R. Human herpes virus type 6 (HHV-6) and its in vitro effect on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). J Clin Pathol. 1988 Dec;41(12):1310–1312. doi: 10.1136/jcp.41.12.1310. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Rasmussen L. Immune response to human cytomegalovirus infection. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 1990;154:221–254. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-74980-3_9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Salahuddin S. Z., Ablashi D. V., Markham P. D., Josephs S. F., Sturzenegger S., Kaplan M., Halligan G., Biberfeld P., Wong-Staal F., Kramarsky B. Isolation of a new virus, HBLV, in patients with lymphoproliferative disorders. Science. 1986 Oct 31;234(4776):596–601. doi: 10.1126/science.2876520. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Saxinger C., Polesky H., Eby N., Grufferman S., Murphy R., Tegtmeir G., Parekh V., Memon S., Hung C. Antibody reactivity with HBLV (HHV-6) in U.S. populations. J Virol Methods. 1988 Sep;21(1-4):199–208. doi: 10.1016/0166-0934(88)90066-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Steeper T. A., Horwitz C. A., Ablashi D. V., Salahuddin S. Z., Saxinger C., Saltzman R., Schwartz B. The spectrum of clinical and laboratory findings resulting from human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) in patients with mononucleosis-like illnesses not resulting from Epstein-Barr virus or cytomegalovirus. Am J Clin Pathol. 1990 Jun;93(6):776–783. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/93.6.776. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Winston D. J., Ho W. G., Champlin R. E. Cytomegalovirus infections after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Rev Infect Dis. 1990 Sep-Oct;12 (Suppl 7):S776–S792. doi: 10.1093/clinids/12.supplement_7.s776. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Wyatt L. S., Frenkel N. Human herpesvirus 7 is a constitutive inhabitant of adult human saliva. J Virol. 1992 May;66(5):3206–3209. doi: 10.1128/jvi.66.5.3206-3209.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Yadav M., Umamaheswari S., Ablashi D. Antibody reactivity with two strains of human herpesvirus-6 in Malaysians. J Med Virol. 1991 Apr;33(4):236–239. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890330405. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Yamanishi K., Okuno T., Shiraki K., Takahashi M., Kondo T., Asano Y., Kurata T. Identification of human herpesvirus-6 as a causal agent for exanthem subitum. Lancet. 1988 May 14;1(8594):1065–1067. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(88)91893-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Yoshiyama H., Suzuki E., Yoshida T., Kajii T., Yamamoto N. Role of human herpesvirus 6 infection in infants with exanthema subitum. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 1990 Feb;9(2):71–74. doi: 10.1097/00006454-199002000-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES