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Comparison of the levels of human herpesvirus 6 (HHV‐6) DNA and cytokines in the cerebrospinal fluid and serum of children with HHV‐6 encephalopathy
Author(s) -
Kawabe Shinji,
Ito Yoshinori,
Ohta Rieko,
Sofue Ayako,
Gotoh Kensei,
Morishima Tsuneo,
Kimura Hiroshi
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.21808
Subject(s) - cerebrospinal fluid , human herpesvirus 6 , encephalopathy , encephalitis , medicine , viral encephalitis , interleukin , tumor necrosis factor alpha , immunology , herpesviridae , virology , pathology , cytokine , virus , viral disease
Primary human herpesvirus‐6 (HHV‐6) infection is a common cause of acute sporadic encephalopathy in Japanese children. Occasionally, HHV‐6 is not detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with encephalopathy, for example, in those with focal viral encephalitis, such as herpes simplex viral encephalitis. This indicates that HHV‐6 encephalopathy is caused by an indirect mechanism, although this is not fully understood. HHV‐6 DNA, cytokines (interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐8, IL‐10, IL‐12 p70, tumor necrosis factor‐α, interferon‐γ), and matrix metalloproteinase‐9 were quantitated in both the CSF and serum of 13 patients with HHV‐6 encephalopathy during the acute phase of the disease. HHV‐6 DNA was detected in the CSF of seven patients with HHV‐6 encephalopathy. The viral DNA concentration was significantly higher in serum than in CSF (mean 1.64 × 10 4 vs. 5.70 × 10 1 copies/ml; P = 0.003). The lack or low level of viral DNA in the CSF samples suggests that direct invasion of the central nervous system by HHV‐6 is not the main cause of encephalopathy. Additionally, the IL‐10 concentration was significantly higher in serum than in CSF ( P < 0.001), whereas there was no significant difference in IL‐6 levels between the CSF and serum samples. Interestingly, the IL‐8 concentration was significantly higher in CSF than in serum ( P = 0.038). The distribution of these cytokines differed between CSF and serum. The high CSF concentration of IL‐8 could play an important role in the pathogenesis of encephalopathy. J. Med. Virol. 82:1410–1415, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.