Human parvovirus B19 in bone marrows from adults with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: a comparative study using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry.

Human parvovirus B19, which infects and lyses erythroid precursors, can cause severe anemia in patients with immunodeficiency. The incidence of parvovirus infection in adult acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients is unknown. Eighty-one archival formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) bone marrow biopsies from 73 AIDS adults were immunostained with monoclonal R92F6 against B19 VP1 and VP2 capsid proteins using streptavidin peroxidase and streptavidin alkaline phosphatase techniques. In addition, the same tissues were hybridized in situ with a digoxigenin-labeled parvovirus B19 DNA probe. Five FFPE bone marrows, from 3 HIV-negative patients with positive immunoglobulin M (IgM) serology for parvovirus B19, and 1 parvovirus B19-infected fetal liver were positive controls. By immunoperoxidase, all tissues were negative with R92F6 except the fetal liver, which exhibited strong positivity predominantly in viral inclusions. With immunoalkaline phosphatase, all positive controls were immunoreactive with R92F6; however, the AIDS marrows were negative. With in situ hybridization (ISH), all positive controls and 7 of 81 (8.6%) of AIDS marrows were positive for B19 parvovirus DNA. We conclude that ISH is more sensitive than R92F6 immunohistochemistry in parvovirus B19 detection. A small but significant number of bone marrows from AIDS adults shows evidence of human parvovirus B19 infection.