Investigators from the University of Helsinki used highly sophisticated techniques to establish that the donor’s integrated virus reactivated and then infected the graft. This thorough investigation highlights the potential pathological impact of iciHHV-6B in transplantation.
HHV-6B IE1 inhibits DNA damage signaling pathway leading to genomic instability
Results suggest a possible link between genomic instability and iciHHV-6 associated disease.
BioFire assay identifies HHV-6 as the most frequent cause of meningoencephalitis in infants 4-11 months
All cases found to be iciHHV-6 were assumed to be false positives.
The relationship of telomere length to HHV-6 integration
Telomere length does not appear to influence the efficiency of viral integration, and viral integration may not affect telomere length.
Uncontrolled evidence suggests immunosuppression may be safe and effective in lymphocytic myocarditis patients with biopsies positive for HHV-6 by qPCR
Steroids reduced cardiac inflammation in 70% and improved ejection fraction in 80% without an increase in viral load.
German HCT specialists call for iciHHV-6 screening of patients and donors
Study finds value in HHV-6 testing of other tissues, as well as blood, and of routine testing for iciHHV-6 in both donors and recipients of allo-HCT.
A large scale whole genome sequencing study sheds light on HHV-6 integration events
Investigators at the Riken Institute in Japan developed new computational methods to detect virus induced structural variants in the human genome
New technique for precisely identifying integration site of HHV-6 in telomeres
Using whole genome optical mapping, investigators found that contrary to previous findings, the length of telomeres with viral integration was not unusually short.
Telomeric integration, excision and subsequent and transmission in people with inherited chromosomally integrated HHV-6B (iciHHV-6B)
Exploiting a hypervariable region of the HHV-6B genome, investigators achieve new insights about integration, excision, and genomic stability of iciHHV-6B
Japanese study supports evidence of iciHHV-6 reactivation in vivo
Surprisingly, 72% of integrated genomes were found on chromosome 22q. Solo-DR sequences of HHV-6B were left behind after excision and reactivation.
One step closer to understanding HHV-6A/B chromosomal integration
The mechanisms leading to HHV-6A/B integration are a subject of intense research by several laboratories. A new paper in PLoS Pathogens provides some understanding as to how HHV-6A/B may integrate host chromosomes.
iciHHV-6 may modulate human gene expression
A Japanese group found that ciHHV6 genes encoding for immunoglobulins were decreased in ciHHV6 individuals, possibly modulating immune responses.
Multiplex FilmArray Meningitis/Encephalitis assay is useful for diagnosing HHV-6 encephalitis
This multiplex qualitative test for cerebrospinal fluid helps physicians diagnose HHV-6 encephalitis quickly, but interpretation must take into account imaging, ciHHV-6 status and other markers.
Patients with iciHHV-6 have higher inflammatory cytokines and develop acute graft vs host disease a week earlier
Transplant patients born with chromosomally integrated HHV-6 have elevated levels of C-reactive protein and tumor necrosis factor receptor 1, both markers associated with increased risk of acute graft-versus-host disease.
Spontaneous gene expression in iciHHV-6A/B individuals leads to increased HHV-6 IE-1A/B and CMV antibody response; higher levels of RNA were found in iciHHV-6A brains
A comprehensive study of DNA and RNA-Seq data demonstrated in vivo gene expression in many iciHHV-6 tissues, with strong expression of IE-1 and matching elevated antibody response in iciHHV-6 individuals compared to controls.