Impact assessment and investigation of factors associated with herpesviruses viremia in the first year of renal transplantation.

The increased risk for opportunistic infections after a renal transplant requires monitoring of viral infections to avoid future complications. Our goal was to investigate the impact and factors associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and human herpesvirus type 6 (HHV-6) viremia in renal transplant recipients. Whole blood samples were collected monthly from 82 patients during the first semester and then quarterly up to 1 year after transplantation. EBV, HCMV, and HHV-6 were detected and quantified by TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that EBV and HCMV viremia were detected in 32 patients (39% each), while HHV-6 viremia in only 3 patients (3.7%). EBV was significantly associated with age (P = .050), thymoglobuline induction (P = .019), mTOR inhibitor-based therapy (P = .003), and female gender (P = .044). HCMV was significantly associated with basiliximab induction (P = .015), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF)-based therapy (P = .003) and allograft acute rejection (P = .033). Moreover, HCMV-disease was correlated with MMF-based therapy (P = .021) and female gender (P = .003). In conclusion, EBV and HCMV viremia were associated with different immunosuppressive induction and maintenance strategies. Additionally, higher HCMV viremia (> 10 4 copies/mL) was related to acute allograft rejection.

Investigation of three oncogenic epitheliotropic viruses shows human papillomavirus in association with non-melanoma skin cancer.

Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) share similar risk factors with other virus-related cancers, despite the lack of proved causal association between viral infection and NMSC development. We investigated the presence of Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in 83 NMSC fresh-frozen and 16 non-cancerous skin biopsies and evaluated viral infection according to demographical data, histopathological diagnosis, and ultraviolet exposure. Our results showed that 75% of NMSC biopsies were positive for at least one out of three viruses, whereas only 38% of non-cancerous skin biopsies were positive (p = 0.02). Notably, HPV detection was frequent in NMSC (43%) and nearly absent (one sample, 6.7%) in non-cancerous biopsies (p = 0.007). MCPyV was associated with sites of higher exposure to ultraviolet radiation (p = 0.010), while EBV was associated with a compromised immune system (p = 0.032). Our study showed that HPV was strongly associated with NMSC while EBV and MCPyV with other risk factors. Though further studies are required to elucidate the role of viral infection in NMSC development and management, this study supports the possible role of oncogenic viruses in skin cancers, especially HPV.