Infection of a human retinal pigment epithelial cell line with human herpesvirus 6 variant A

Abstract

A retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell line (K-1034) was examined for its susceptibility to human herpesvirus 6 variant A (HHV-6A). Exposure of K-1034 cells to HHV-6A induced the formation of multinucleated giant cells, which was suppressed by an inhibitor of viral DNA synthesis. In the giant cells, herpesvirus nucleocapsids were demonstrated by electron microscopy and the viral glycoprotein B was detected by immunofluorescence assay. These results indicate that K-1034 cells are susceptible to HHV-6A and suggest that HHV-6A has an ability to directly destroy epithelial cells.

Ocular manifestations of emerging viral diseases

“…Presence of HHV-6 DNA can be accounted for as it latently resides in immune cells [35], which may enter the eye during inflammation due to destruction of the blood-retinal barrier [36]. Alternatively, HHV-6 DNA detected in intraocular fluids may be due to release of HHV-6 DNA from resident ocular cells caused by intraocular inflammation and this is supported by findings that HHV-6 can infect human retinal pigment epithelial cells [50].…”