The 12th International Conference on HHV-6 & 7 in Himeji, Japan was a wonderful experience with investigators from Europe, China, India, Australia, Canada and the US sharing their research. Many new relationships and collaborations were formed. Tetsushi Yoshikawa, MD, PhD was awarded the HHV-6 Foundation’s “Dharam Ablashi Lifetime Achievement Award” which was presented by Phil Pellett, PhD and Conference Chair …
Herpesvirus “jumping genes” may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease
Transposable elements in aging brains were linked to herpesvirus RNA, predominantly HHV-6A, HHV-6B and HHV-7.
EBV and HHV-6 dUTPases explain 47% of the variance in autoantibody responses to myelin proteins in relapsing-remitting MS patients
Findings suggest that viral reactivation may trigger or sustain autoimmune responses in MS.
Leading HHV-6 investigators encourage using new name for iciHHV-6
Read why some believe that “endogenous HHV-6” is a better term than inherited chromosomally integrated HHV-6, and sign on to their open letter if you agree.
Extracellular viral microRNAs as novel biomarkers to differentiate active from latent infections
Short non-coding RNA’s provide cell-free, activity-specific viral signatures.
High levels of herpesviruses found in patients suspected of bloodstream infections using metagenomic NGS sequencing of cfDNA
EBV was found in 28.6%; HHV-6 and CMV were found in 18.4% of cases.
HHV-6B Ribonucleotide Reductase Sequesters NF-κB Subunit p65 to Inhibit Innate Immune Responses
This study helps explain how roseoloviruses maintain persistent infection.
Adding anti-thymocyte globulin to cyclophosphamide did not increase HHV-6 reactivation after haploidentical HCT
As with previous studies, HHV-6 reactivation delayed platelet engraftment and increased the risk of aGVHD.
Finnish investigators find unexpected evidence of HHV-6B integration into mitochondrial DNA
Could HHV-6B infection exacerbate mitochondrial disease?
Review summarizes the substantial disease burden of primary HHV-6B infection in children
Review summarizes experience from Japan and U.S.
HHV-6 linked to miscarriage through Mendelian randomization studies
The findings are consistent with previous studies directly linking HHV-6 endometrial infection to miscarriage.
More evidence supporting the role of HHV-6 and HHV-7 as possible triggers of pityriasis rosea
Argument rests on the use of a putatively more sensitive diagnostic technique.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma has 3 subtypes, one linked to infection with EBV and HHV-6
Outcomes worse for the subtype linked to EBV and HHV-6.
iciHHV-6B linked to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Japanese and European populations
iciHHV-6B, when integrated into chromosome 22q, was strongly associated with SLE and with SLE severity.
HHV-6 reactivation in patients with DRESS associated with worse outcomes
Similar findings with EBV and CMV reactivation; causation vs. correlation unclear.