Dynamics of salivary human herpesvirus‐6 and ‐7 shedding in pregnant women

Abstract

Reactivation of Betaherpesvirinae (Human herpesvirus 6A: HHV-6A, -6B, HHV-7) may be associated with mental illness and host fatigue. This study aimed to determine whether viral reactivation, measured by monitoring salivary viral DNA load, can be used to monitor depression in pregnant and postpartum women. Saliva samples were collected from 64 pregnant women at five points of observation periods. The HHV-6-and HHV-7-specific qPCRs were carried out to measure viral DNA load. When HHV-6 DNA was detected in saliva, nested PCR was used to discriminate between HHV-6A and -6B. In both viruses, a significant correlation was observed between detection frequency and viral DNA load in saliva. In the lowshedding group, HHV-6 DNA was significantly higher in the third trimester (p < 0.0001), the time of delivery (p = 0.0003), 1 month after birth (p = 0.0023) compared with the first trimester, and HHV-7 was at the time of delivery (p = 0.0277) and 1 month after birth (p = 0.0235). Most of the detected HHV-6 DNAs in saliva were HHV-6B. Both viral DNA loads were significantly lower (HHV-6: p = 0.0101, HHV-7: p = 0.0044) in the subjects with abnormal Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores. The detection rate and viral DNA load of both viruses in saliva increased after the third trimester. Salivary virus DNA shedding was significantly lower in subjects with an abnormal EPDS score.

Molecular detection of human herpes virus 7 in women patients with recurrent pregnancy loss

“…In addition, the present result of HHV7 is compatible with Al-Buhtori et al,2011 andLuis et al, 2011 who found HHV-7 in 34% and 66.9% in spontaneous aborted women, respectively. Furthermore, a recent study found HHV-7, only one pregnant woman did not shed viral DNA at all, and most subjects (46/54, 85.2%) shed viral DNA in all five samples (Suzuki. et al,2022).…”

“…A previous report has tied HHV-7 infection to spontaneous abortion and neonatal hypotonia. Accordingly, to these investigators have attempted to clarify the relationship between HHV-7 infections during pregnancy (Ohashi et al,2002;Caserta et al,2007;Suzuki. et al,2022).…”

“…In fact, in only around 50% of RPL cases can defined causes/risk factors can be found, including advanced maternal age, genetic abnormalities, selected maternal autoantibodies, endocrine dysfunctions, and uterine abnormalities. The remaining RPL cases currently are unexplained (uRPL) (Ticconi et al,2019). Recent studies have shown that the etiology of RSA is complex and varied, including advanced age, genetic abnormalities, infections, immune disorders, coagulation abnormalities, and endocrine dysfunction (Guo et al, 2020).…”

Human herpesvirus 7 meningitis in an adolescent with normal immune function: A case report

“…However, in recent years, the cases of HHV-7 infection and meningitis in adolescents with normal immune function have gradually increased, causing widespread concern in the medical community[ 4 - 6 ]. The purpose of this study was to investigate the pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnostic methods, and therapeutic effects of herpesvirus 7 meningitis in adolescents with normal immune function and to provide a scientific basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment[ 7 ]. At present, the diagnosis of herpesvirus-7 meningitis in adolescents with normal immune function mainly depends on cerebrospinal fluid examination, virus isolation, and serological detection[ 8 - 10 ].…”