Rational vaccine design requires understanding details of protective immunity against each virus. Yasuko Mori and associates from Japan have now identified CD4+ and H-2Kd restricted CD8+ T-cell epitopes essential for HHV-6B viral entry, opening new possibilities for vaccines and immunotherapy.
Cross-sectional analysis of CD8 T cell immunity to HHV-6B identifies new targets for adoptive T cell therapy
German investigators conducted a broad scale analysis of CD8 T cell responses to HHV-6B, identifying novel epitopes with potential for immunotherapy or vaccines. The strongest responses were directed against an epitope from IE-2.
HHV-6 identified in 12% of simple and 42% of complex pediatric febrile seizures
Australian investigators studied 143 young children with febrile seizures for signs of viral infection and found that HHV-6 was the fifth most common virus after rhinovirus (22%), enterovirus (20%), adenovirus (21%) and influenza (13%). Overall, a virus was found in 71% of cases. Virus found in complex seizures was associated with HHV-6 (42%) or influenza (41%).
Can depression, psychiatric disorders and fatigue be triggered by a neurovirulent latent HHV-6B protein?
Three virologists led by Kazuhiro Kondo, MD, PhD, a professor of virology at Jikei University School of Medicine, have filed a patent on a method to diagnose and treat prevent mood disorders which he says are initiated by latent and neurovirulent HHV-6B residing in glial cells, and that this condition can be treated effectively with nasal sprays, using the olfactory nerve as a route to the brain. Dr. Kondo has named this protein SITH-1 or “small protein encoded by intermediate state transcript”.
Joshua Hill wins the HHV-6 Foundation Caroline B. Hall Young Investigator Award
Dr. Joshua Hill, a research associate in Fred Hutch’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, was awarded the Caroline B. Hall Young Investigator Award at the International HHV-6 & 7 Conference in Boston for his work on HHV-6.
Philip Pellett wins Lifetime Achievement Award
Philip Pellett, PhD, a Professor and Interim Chair of Immunology and Microbiology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, was awarded the HHV-6 Foundation’s Dharam Ablashi Lifetime Achievement Award at the 9th International Conference on HHV-6 & 7.
Joshua Hill awarded a 5-year grant to study HHV-6
Congratulations to Joshua Hill, MD, Acting Instructor at the University of Washington and Research Associate at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, who has won a K23 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to study HHV-6 in lower respiratory tract disease and chromosomally integrated HHV-6 after stem cell transplantation (SCT).
Poor Outcome in ICU Patients with HHV-6 & CMV
Intensive care (ICU) patients with co-infections of HHV-6 and CMV are 7.5x more likely to die or have an extended stay in the hospital. On the other hand, single infections with either HHV-6 or CMV did not significantly impact outcome.