Subtypes of epstein‐barr virus in HIV‐1‐associated and HIV‐1‐unrelated hodgkin's disease cases

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) type 2 is considered to be a much less potent transformer of lymphocytes than type‐1. However, type‐2 EBV may be involved in the pathogenesis of non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs) arising in immunocompromised patients, i.e., subjects with malaria or HIV‐1 infection. To determine whether type‐2 EBV may also play a role in Hodgkin's disease (HD) developing in immunocompromised patients, we characterized EBV subtypes in EBV‐positive HD samples from 10 HIV‐1‐positive patients as well as from a control population of 24 HIV‐1 ‐negative patients. Type‐2 EBV was detected in 5/10 HD samples from the HIV‐1‐positive group (I case showed concomitant type‐1 EBV positivity), but only in 1/20 HD samples from the HIV‐1 ‐negative group, indicating that, during HIV‐1 ‐induced immunodepression, type‐2 EBV may be pathoge‐netically involved also in HD, as previously reported for HIV‐associated NHLs.