Bone Marrow Failure Associated with Human Herpesvirus 8 Infection after Transplantation

Abstract

Primary HHV-8 infection and reactivation of infection may be associated with nonneoplastic complications in immunosuppressed patients.

A critical analysis of the tumour immunosurveillance controversy for 3-MCA-induced sarcomas

“…These authors also show that the aggressive tumours developed in NKG2D-deficient mice express higher levels of NKG2D ligands (which mediate NK-mediated destruction of some tumour cells) than the tumour cells from wildtype mice, suggesting that in immunocompetent mice one of the early events in the immunoediting of spontaneous tumours may be the selection of tumour-cell variants that express low levels of NKG2D ligands. The hypothesis that both spontaneous and virally induced tumours can be recognised and controlled by the immune system is now clearly supported both by clinical and laboratory data (Farge, 1993;Curtis et al, 1997;Luppi et al, 2000;Scadden, 2003;Kasiske et al, 2004;Kannagi, 2007;Lagos et al, 2007). Furthermore, the idea that tumour development in an immunocompetent animal proceeds through a variable sequence of immunologic checkpoints involving tolerance induction, immunoselection, immune evasion and/or immune elimination has been well supported by experimentation with 3-MCA-induced sarcomas (van den Broek et al, 1996;Kaplan et al, 1998;Smyth et al, 1999;Shankaran et al, 2001;Dunn et al, 2002;Koebel et al, 2007).…”

“…In contrast to chemically induced tumours, virally induced cancers result from the prolonged expression of viral proteins, many of which are highly immunogenic, and must necessarily evade immune elimination either by the induction of tolerance, the loss of immunogenicity or, as in the case of Kaposi's sarcoma, remain latent until an immunoprivileged opportunity arises (Luppi et al, 2000;Scadden, 2003;Kannagi, 2007). Two impressive examples of how viruses can evolve to manipulate the immunogenicity of the cells they infect are KSHV (HHV-8) and HTLV-1.…”

Comparative Evaluation of Three Serological Methods for Detection of Human Herpesvirus 8-Specific Antibodies in Canadian Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients

“…HHV-8 has also been associated with two forms of lymphoproliferative disorders: body cavity-based lymphomas and multicentric Castleman's disease (12,34). Several studies of HHV-8 infections in solid organ (liver, lung, heart, and kidney) transplant recipients have been reported previously (2,3,11,16,18,(22)(23)(24)27; C. Frances, C. Mouquet, and V. Calvez, Letter to the editor, N. Engl. J. Med.…”

“…The development of KS lesions in those patient populations has been shown to be highly correlated with immunosuppressive treatments and might result from HHV-8 transmission by the donors (27). Besides KS, HHV-8 infections in allograft recipients have been associated with cytopenias, splenomegaly, and marrow failure (23). Nevertheless, much remains to be known about HHV-8 infections in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (SCT) recipients, particularly in North America, where seroprevalence of this virus in the general population is very low (1).…”

The pleiotropic effects of Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus

“…Increased replication of KSHV is frequently seen in immunosuppressed patients (see below) and may be associated with bone marrow failure in transplant recipients [13,14] in a manner similar to, for example, CMV. KSHV infection has also been described in cases of haemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) but is not the only viral cause of this condition [15][16][17].…”