No evidence for a role of human herpesvirus type 8 in sarcoidosis: molecular and serological analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse the association between human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV8) and sarcoidosis. Using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we tested the presence of HHV8 DNA sequences in 13 skin specimens and peripheral blood mononuclear cells from eight patients suffering from sarcoidosis. We also looked for the presence of HHV8 antibodies in the sera of 28 patients with sarcoidosis using three techniques: two indirect immunofluorescence assays and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with recombinant capsid protein fragment encoded by open-reading frame 65. HHV8 PCR analysis was negative while HHV8 serological studies showed an overall prevalence of 18% among patients suffering from sarcoidosis: 43% in patients from sub-Saharan Africa, 17% in patients from Northern Africa, 12.5% in patients from the French West Indies and 0% in French patients. In conclusion, our results do not indicate an association between HHV8 and sarcoidosis but reflect the seroepidemiology of this virus in different geographical regions.

The potential of the immunological markers of sarcoidosis in exhaled breath and peripheral blood as future diagnostic and monitoring techniques

“…HLA Class II antigens encoded by HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 alleles are also consistently associated with AfricanAmericans and Caucasians who develop Löfgren's syndrome, an acute form of sarcoidosis characterised by bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy, polyarthralgia and erythema nodosum and which has a good prognosis (Lebbe et al 1999;Baughman et al 2003;Iannuzzi et al 2003;McGuire-Gray et al 2006; Thomas and Hunninghake 2006). HLA-DQB1*0201 and HLA-DRB1*0301 are also associated with Löfgren's syndrome together with reduced T H 1 responses and cytokine expression (Idali et al 2006), with these patients showing good prognosis (Wahlström et al , 2009Grunewald et al 2010).…”

“…Similarly, evidence linking Rickettsia helvetica, Chlamydia pneumonia and Tropheryma whipplei to sarcoidosis is weak, based on case reports (Chen and Moller 2008) and studies did not detect Borrelia burgdorferi DNA in sarcoid tissues by PCR analysis (Thomas and Hunninghake 2006) Epstein-Barr virus, human herpesvirus-8, Coxsackie virus, mycobacteriophage, herpes simplex have been suggested as possible aetiological agents, but most recent findings indicate otherwise (Lebbe et al 1999;Gazouli et al 2002;Thomas and Hunninghake 2006) Sarcoidosis development is documented in patients receiving interferon-a therapy, a stimulator of T cell activity, particularly with high incidence in a subgroup of patients with sarcoidosis who have chronic hepatitis C infection. High incidences of sarcoidosis in untreated hepatitis C also suggest an association (Bolukbas et al 2005;Celik et al 2005).…”

Three Cases of Cutaneous Sarcoidosis: Search for Bacterial Agent by the 16S RNA Gene Analysis and Treatment with Antibiotics

“…Controversial results still remain concerning the presence of mycobacterial DNA in sarcoid lesions [16]. Retroviruses [17]and HHV-8 [18]have also been searched for in sarcoidosis tissues. Recently, Ishige et al [19]detected Propionibacterium sp.…”

Etiology of Sarcoidosis: the Role of Propionibacterium acnes

“…Borrelia burgdorferi was proposed as a possible agent of sarcoidosis by a Chinese group [16] on the basis of the elevated titers of serum antibodies in sarcoid patients, but the same group later concluded that the elevation is a nonspecific response [42]. Human herpesvirus 8 was proposed by an English group [5] to be a cause of sarcoidosis on the basis of the results of nested PCR, but later research on these lines by other groups [6,23,25] gave negative results.…”