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Previous Volume 339:1358-1363 November 5, 1998 Number 19 Next

	Full Text PDF Editorial by Ho, M. Letters Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited PubMed Citation

ABSTRACT

Background Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) has been detected in all forms of Kaposi's sarcoma, including transplantation-associated Kaposi's sarcoma. To investigate the possibility of transmission of HHV-8 through allografts, we measured the seroprevalence of HHV-8 before and after renal transplantation.

Methods Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with the recombinant HHV-8 protein orf 65.2, we analyzed serum samples from 220 renal-transplant recipients for the presence of antibodies to HHV-8 on the day of transplantation and one year later. Positive results were confirmed by an indirect immunofluorescence assay that detects antibodies to latent antigen and by Western blotting. Follow-up lasted at least four years.

Results The seroprevalence of HHV-8 in graft recipients increased from 6.4 percent on the day of transplantation to 17.7 percent one year after transplantation. Seroconversion occurred within the first year after transplantation in 25 patients, and Kaposi's sarcoma developed in 2 of them within 26 months after transplantation. Sequential serum samples were obtained from 10 of the patients with seroconversion, and in 8 of these patients, IgM antibodies to HHV-8 appeared within three months after transplantation. In the case of six patients who seroconverted, serum samples from the donors were available, and five (83 percent) tested positive for HHV-8. In a control group of eight patients who were seronegative at the time of transplantation and who received allografts from HHV-8–negative donors, none seroconverted within the year after transplantation.

Conclusions HHV-8 is transmitted through renal allografts and is a risk factor for transplantation-associated Kaposi's sarcoma.

Source Information

From the Institute for Medical Microbiology, University of Basel, Basel (N.R., M.W., A.W., P.E.); the Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Basel, Basel (M.T., G.T.); and the Department of Pathology, University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich (G.C.) — all in Switzerland.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Erb at the Institute for Medical Microbiology, University of Basel, Petersplatz 10, CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland.

Full Text of this Article

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Human Herpesvirus 8 and Renal Transplantation
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N Engl J Med 1999; 340:1045-1046, Apr 1, 1999. Correspondence

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