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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2006, p. 3863-3871, Vol. 44, No. 11
0095-1137/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00791-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Pregnancy and Human Herpesvirus 8 Reactivation in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1-Infected Women{triangledown}

Andrea Lisco,1,2 Massimo Barbierato,1 Josè R. Fiore,2 Paola  Gasperini,1 Anna Favia,2 Anna Volpe,2 Maria Chironna,3 Giuseppe Pastore,2 Luigi Chieco-Bianchi,1 and Maria Luisa Calabrò4*

Department of Oncology and Surgical Sciences, Oncology Section, University of Padova, Padua,1 Clinic of Infectious Diseases, University of Bari, Bari,2 Department of Biomedical Science and Human Oncology, Hygiene Section, University of Bari, Bari,3 Istituto Oncologico Veneto, Immunology and Diagnostic Molecular Oncology, Padua, Italy4

Received 13 April 2006/ Returned for modification 9 June 2006/ Accepted 8 August 2006

To investigate the impact of pregnancy on human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) reactivation in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected women, the HHV-8 DNA presence and load were analyzed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and cervicovaginal secretions (CVSs) from 15 pregnant women coinfected with HIV-1 and HHV-8. HHV-8 detection was analyzed in relation to anti-HHV-8 antibodies and HIV-1-related parameters. Nucleotide sequence analysis of an ORFK1 hypervariable region of the HHV-8 strains was performed. HHV-8 was detected in maternal PBMCs (5/15 women) from the second trimester and in CVSs (5/15 women) mainly from the third trimester. The HHV-8 load significantly increased late in pregnancy in both maternal compartments and was associated with a significant increase in HIV-1 shedding in the genital tract. Antilytic antibodies were significantly more common in HHV-8 DNA-positive women. An elevated HHV-8 load was found in the PBMCs of an infant born to a mother with large amounts of HHV-8 in both compartments at delivery. Different ORFK1 subtypes were found in maternal samples, whereas the same subtype was identified in the mother-child pair. These data suggest that pregnancy may induce HHV-8 replication in HIV-1-infected women. An augmented HHV-8 load may, in turn, influence mother-to-child transmission, since one of the HIV-1-infected mothers with HHV-8 reactivation transmitted her ORFK1 subtype to the infant, who showed a high level of HHV-8 viremia indicative of a primary infection. This finding documents for the first time the perinatal transmission of a specific HHV-8 subtype. Vertical transmission may thus play a role in HHV-8 spread also in areas of subendemicity among HIV-1-infected women.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Istituto Oncologico Veneto, Immunology and Diagnostic Molecular Oncology, Via Gattamelata 64, I-35128 Padua, Italy. Phone: 39-049-8215883. Fax: 39-049-8072854. E-mail: lcalabro{at}unipd.it.

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 30 August 2006.

{dagger} Present address: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2006, p. 3863-3871, Vol. 44, No. 11
0095-1137/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00791-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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