Interferon alpha suppresses alphaherpesvirus immediate early protein levels in sensory neurons, leading to the establishment of a latent infection

Alphaherpesviruses are a subfamily of the herpesviruses containing closely related human and animal pathogens, including human herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) and porcine pseudorabies virus (PRV)

Prevalence of herpes simplex, Epstein Barr and human papilloma viruses in oral lichen planus

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of Herpes Simplex virus, Epstein Barr virus and Human Papilloma virus -16 in oral lichen planus cases and to evaluate whether any clinical variant, histopathological or demographic feature correlates with these viruses. Study Design: The study was conducted on 65 cases. Viruses were detected immunohistochemically. We evaluated the histopathological and demographic features and statistically analysed correlation of these features with Herpes Simplex virus, Epstein Barr virus and Human Papilloma virus-16 positivity. Results: Herpes Simplex virus was positive in six (9%) cases and this was not statistically significant. The number of Epstein Barr virus positive cases was 23 (35%) and it was statistically significant. Human Papilloma virus positivity in 14 cases (21%) was statistically significant. Except basal cell degeneration in Herpes Simplex virus positive cases, we did not observe any significant correlation between virus positivity and demographic or histopathological features. However an increased risk of Epstein Barr virus and Human Papilloma virus infection was noted in oral lichen planus cases. Conclusions: Taking into account the oncogenic potential of both viruses, oral lichen planus cases should be detected for the presence of these viruse

Clinical features of varicella-zoster virus infection

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a pathogenic human herpes virus that causes varicella (chickenpox) as a primary infection, following which it becomes latent in peripheral ganglia. Decades later, the virus may reactivate either spontaneously or after a number of triggering factors to cause herpes zoster (shingles). Varicella and its complications are more severe in the immunosuppressed. The most frequent and important complication of VZV reactivation is postherpetic neuralgia, the cause of which is unknown and for which treatment is usually ineffective. Reactivation of VZV may also cause a wide variety of neurological syndromes, the most significant of which is a vasculitis, which is treated with corticosteroids and the antiviral drug acyclovir. Other VZV reactivation complications include an encephalitis, segmental motor weakness and myelopathy, cranial neuropathies, Guillain–Barré syndrome, enteric features, and zoster sine herpete, in which the viral reactivation occurs in the absence of the characteristic dermatomally distributed vesicular rash of herpes zoster. There has also been a recent association of VZV with giant cell arteritis and this interesting finding needs further corroboration. Vaccination is now available for the prevention of both varicella in children and herpes zoster in older individuals

Полимеразная цепная реакция в диагностике острых менингитов бактериальной и вирусной этиологии

Показана эффективность полимеразной цепной реакции для выявления в цереброспинальной жидкости Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae и Haemophilus influenzae b, Enterovirus, Herpes simplex 1/2, Epstein — Barr virus, Cytomegalovirus, Humаn herpes virus 6 как метода диагностики острых менингитов, который позволяет значительно повысить частоту расшифровки этиологии гнойных и серозных менингитов.Показано ефективність полімеразної ланцюгової реакції для виявлення в цереброспінальній рідині Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae і Haemophilus influenzae b, Enterovirus, Herpes simplex 1/2, Epstein — Barr virus, Cytomegalovirus, Humаn herpes virus 6 як методу діагностики гострих менінгітів, що дозволяє значно підвищити частоту розшифровки етіології гнійних і серозних менінгітів.The efficacy of polymerase chain reaction in revealing Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae b, Enterovirus, Herpes simplex 1/2, Epstein – Barr virus, Сytomegalovirus, Human herpes virus-6 in the cerebrospinal fluid as a method of diagnosis of acute meningitis allowing to increase the frequency of deciphering the etiology of purulent and serous meningitis is shown

Review of Varicella zoster virus : from epidemiology to prevention

The Varicella zoster virus is a human pathogen which causes Varicella after primary infection and herpes zoster after secondary reactivation. Both disease manifestations can occur at any age; however, Varicella is seen more commonly in children whilst herpes zoster is mainly observed in the elderly. Although uncommon, disease complications secondary to Varicella may be severe and life-threatening especially at the extremes of age, during pregnancy and in the immunocompromised. Attenuated Varicella vaccines have been successfully formulated to prevent Varicella and its complications and are part of the routine childhood immunisation programmes in several countries including the US, Canada, Germany and Australia. This review discusses the epidemiology of Varicella, the clinical presentation and management of Varicella zoster virus infections and the potential of preventing Varicella and herpes zoster through immunisation.peer-reviewe

Structure of the herpes-simplex virus portal-vertex

Herpesviruses include many important human pathogens such as herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus, varicella-zoster virus, and the oncogenic Epstein–Barr virus and Kaposi sarcoma–associated herpesvirus. Herpes virions contain a large icosahedral capsid that has a portal at a unique 5-fold vertex, similar to that seen in the tailed bacteriophages. The portal is a molecular motor through which the viral genome enters the capsid during virion morphogenesis. The genome also exits the capsid through the portal-vertex when it is injected through the nuclear pore into the nucleus of a new host cell to initiate infection. Structural investigations of the herpesvirus portal-vertex have proven challenging, owing to the small size of the tail-like portal-vertex–associated tegument (PVAT) and the presence of the tegument layer that lays between the nucleocapsid and the viral envelope, obscuring the view of the portal-vertex. Here, we show the structure of the herpes simplex virus portal-vertex at subnanometer resolution, solved by electron cryomicroscopy (cryoEM) and single-particle 3D reconstruction. This led to a number of new discoveries, including the presence of two previously unknown portal-associated structures that occupy the sites normally taken by the penton and the Ta triplex. Our data revealed that the PVAT is composed of 10 copies of the C-terminal domain of pUL25, which are uniquely arranged as two tiers of star-shaped density. Our 3D reconstruction of the portal-vertex also shows that one end of the viral genome extends outside the portal in the manner described for some bacteriophages but not previously seen in any eukaryote viruses. Finally, we show that the viral genome is consistently packed in a highly ordered left-handed spool to form concentric shells of DNA. Our data provide new insights into the structure of a molecular machine critical to the biology of an important class of human pathogens

Neurotropic viruses and cerebral palsy: population based case-control study

Objective: To investigate the association between cerebral palsy and direct evidence for perinatal exposure to neurotropic viruses. Design: Population based case-control study. Setting: Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital Research Laboratory. Participants and main outcome measures: Newborn screening cards of 443 white case patients with cerebral palsy and 883 white controls were tested for viral nucleic acids from enteroviruses and herpes viruses by using polymerase chain reaction. Herpes group A viruses included herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8), and herpes group B viruses included varicella zoster virus (VZV) and human herpes viruses 6 and 7 (HHV-6 and HHV-7). Results: The prevalence of viral nucleic acids in the control population was high: 39.8% of controls tested positive, and the prevalence was highest in preterm babies. The detection of herpes group B viral nucleic acids increased the risk of developing cerebral palsy (odds ratio 1.68, 95% confidence interval 1.09 to 2.59). Conclusions: Perinatal exposure to neurotropic viruses is associated with preterm delivery and cerebral palsy.Catherine S. Gibson, Alastair H. MacLennan, Paul N. Goldwater, Eric A. Haan, Kevin Priest and Gustaaf A. Dekker

Problem of genital herpes in pregnancy

Introduction. Infectious diseases of the mother in 67-70% of cases lead to infertility, miscarriage of pregnancy, and the cause can be both severe systemic infectious diseases, and asymptomatic infections of the genital tract. Genital herpes (GH) remains one of the most common diseases in the world and represents an important medical and social problem. During pregnancy, GH is one of the causes of fetal death, stillbirth, premature birth of the fetus. Under influence of herpes virus, 30% of spontaneous abortions occur in the early terms of pregnancy, and more than 50% of late miscarriages. Infection with the herpes virus remains poorly controlled, due to the lack of the possibility of complete removal of the herpes simplex virus (HSV) from the human body. Aim. To study the treatment regimens and methods of delivery of pregnant women with genital herpes

Immunopathology of Virus-Induced Anterior Uveitis

Herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus, human cytomegalovirus, and rubella virus are the most common causes of virus-induced anterior uveitis. They can present in a variety of entities not only with typical but also overlapping clinical ch

pH Dependence and Stoichiometry of Binding to the Fc Region of IgG by the Herpes Simplex Virus Fc Receptor gE-gI

Herpes simplex virus type 1 encodes two glycoproteins, gE and gI, that form a heterodimer on the surface of virions and infected cells. The gE-gI heterodimer has been implicated in cell-to-cell spread of virus and is a receptor for the Fc fragment of IgG. Previous studies localized the gE-gI-binding site on human IgG to a region near the interface between the CH2 and CH3 domains of Fc, which also serves as the binding site for bacterial and mammalian Fc receptors. Although there are two potential gE-gI-binding sites per Fc homodimer, only one gE-gI heterodimer binds per IgG in gel filtration experiments. Here we report production of recombinant human Fc molecules that contain zero, one, or two potential gE-gI-binding sites and use them in analytical ultracentrifugation experiments to show that two gE-gI heterodimers can bind to each Fc. Further characterization of the gE-gI interaction with Fc reveals a sharp pH dependence of binding, with KD values of ~340 and ~930 nM for the first and second binding events, respectively, at the slightly basic pH of the cell surface (pH 7.4), but undetectable binding at pH 6.0. This strongly pH-dependent interaction suggests a physiological role for gE-gI dissociation from IgG within acidic intracellular compartments, consistent with a mechanism whereby herpes simplex virus promotes intracellular degradation of anti-viral antibodies