Mainka C, Fuss B, Geiger H, Höfelmayr H, Wolff M H
Institute of Microbiology and Virology, University of Witten/Herdecke, Germany.
J Med Virol. 1998 Sep;56(1):91-8. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9071(199809)56:1<91::aid-jmv15>3.0.co;2-z.
Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) viremia at different stages of infection was characterized. Different approaches were used, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), isothermal transcription based nucleic acid amplification (NASBA), and immunofluorescence to describe and quantitate viral infection of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). In patients with acute varicella 200 to 5,000 copies of the viral genome in every 150,000 PBMC were found with quantitative competitive PCR (QCPCR). With NASBA, viral transcriptional activity was detected in these cells. RNA transcribed from the immediate early gene IE 63 as well as from the late gene 68 were found, indicating a productive infection. Glycoprotein gE specific immunofluorescence visualized by confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that only 1 in 10,000 to 100,000 PBMC was infected. T and B lymphocytes as well as monocytes expressed viral protein on their surface. Similar results were obtained with PBMC from immunocompetent zoster patients. In some cases a transient viremia was found shortly after the onset of rash, although the viral load seemed to be lower than in patients with varicella. Examination of blood samples from 16 persons with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) signs of viral replication in PBMC were not detected. In conclusion, the data suggest that VZV viremia is a frequent event in patients with varicella and zoster, but not in those with postherpetic neuralgia. Moreover, the results indicated that subclinical reactivations occur both in immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals.
对水痘带状疱疹病毒（VZV）在感染不同阶段的病毒血症进行了特征描述。采用了不同方法，即聚合酶链反应（PCR）、基于等温转录的核酸扩增技术（NASBA）以及免疫荧光法，来描述和定量外周血单个核细胞（PBMC）的病毒感染情况。在急性水痘患者中，通过定量竞争PCR（QCPCR）发现，每150,000个PBMC中有200至5,000个病毒基因组拷贝。使用NASBA技术，在这些细胞中检测到了病毒转录活性。发现了从立即早期基因IE 63以及晚期基因68转录而来的RNA，表明存在有效感染。通过共聚焦激光扫描显微镜观察到的糖蛋白gE特异性免疫荧光显示，每10,000至100,000个PBMC中只有1个被感染。T淋巴细胞、B淋巴细胞以及单核细胞在其表面表达病毒蛋白。在免疫功能正常的带状疱疹患者的PBMC中也获得了类似结果。在某些情况下，出疹后不久发现有短暂病毒血症，尽管病毒载量似乎低于水痘患者。对16例有带状疱疹后神经痛（PHN）的患者的血样检查未检测到PBMC中有病毒复制迹象。总之，数据表明VZV病毒血症在水痘和带状疱疹患者中很常见，但在带状疱疹后神经痛患者中并非如此。此外，结果表明亚临床再激活在免疫功能低下和免疫功能正常的个体中均会发生。
