Gabrielli Liliana, Balboni Alice, Borgatti Eva Caterina, Virgili Giulio, Petrisli Evangelia, Cantiani Alessia, Pavoni Matteo, Baiesi Pillastrini Federico, Venturoli Simona, Piccirilli Giulia, Lazzarotto Tiziana
Microbiology Unit, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy.
Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy.
Microorganisms. 2023 Feb 21;11(3):548. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11030548.
Inherited chromosomally integrated human herpesvirus 6 (iciHHV-6) is a condition in which the complete HHV-6 genome is integrated into the chromosomes of the host germ cell and is vertically transmitted. The aims of this study were to identify iciHHV-6 prevalence in hospitalized patients and clinical features in individuals carrying this integration. HHV-6 PCR on hair follicles was used to confirm iciHHV-6 status when the blood viral load was more than 5 Log copies/mL. From January 2012 to June 2022, HHV-6 DNAemia was investigated in 2019 patients. In particular, 49 had a viral load higher than 6 Log copies/mL and HHV-6 DNA in hair follicles was positive. A viral load between 5.0 and 5.9 Log copies/mL was observed in 10 patients: 6 infants with acute HHV-6 infection and 4 patients with leukopenia and HHV-6 integration. Therefore, the iciHHV-6 prevalence in our population was 2.6% (53/2019). Adult patients with integration presented hematological (24%), autoimmune (11%), autoimmune neurological (19%), not-autoimmune neurological (22%), and other diseases (19%), whereas 5% had no clinically relevant disease. Although in our study population a high percentage of iciHHV-6 adult hospitalized patients presented a specific pathology, it is still unknown whether the integration is responsible for, or contributes to, the disease development.
遗传性染色体整合人疱疹病毒6型（iciHHV-6）是一种疾病，其特点是完整的HHV-6基因组整合到宿主生殖细胞的染色体中并垂直传播。本研究的目的是确定住院患者中iciHHV-6的患病率以及携带这种整合的个体的临床特征。当血液病毒载量超过5 Log拷贝/mL时，采用毛囊HHV-6 PCR来确认iciHHV-6状态。2012年1月至2022年6月，对2019例患者进行了HHV-6病毒血症调查。特别是，49例患者的病毒载量高于6 Log拷贝/mL，且毛囊中的HHV-6 DNA呈阳性。10例患者的病毒载量在5.0至5.9 Log拷贝/mL之间：6例为急性HHV-6感染婴儿，4例为白细胞减少症且伴有HHV-6整合的患者。因此，我们人群中iciHHV-6的患病率为2.6%（53/2019）。携带整合的成年患者出现血液系统疾病（24%）、自身免疫性疾病（11%）、自身免疫性神经系统疾病（19%）、非自身免疫性神经系统疾病（22%）和其他疾病（19%），而5%的患者无临床相关疾病。尽管在我们的研究人群中，高比例的iciHHV-6成年住院患者表现出特定的病理状况，但整合是否导致或促成疾病发展仍不清楚。
