Human herpesvirus-6 in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: a prospective cohort study in Egypt. 2023

May Moheb Eldin Raouf, and Nancy Mohammed Ouf, and Manal Abdel Sattar Elsorady, and Faika Mahmoud Ghoneim
Medical Microbiology and Immunology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, 0 Khartoum Square, Azarita, Alexandria, Egypt. may.raouf@alexmed.edu.eg.

Immunocompromised patients face reactivation of latent viruses that increase the risk of morbidity. The study aimed to detect human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6) reactivation among allogeneic (allo) and autologous (auto) hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients and to correlate potentially attributed clinical manifestations to HHV-6 DNA plasma level. A prospective study included all (forty) patients undergoing allo and auto-HSCT from Jan 2020 till June 2022. Plasma samples were collected for HHV-6 serology, and for HHV-6 quantitative PCR at post-transplantation weeks 2, 4, 6. Demographic and clinical data were recorded. Out of 40 peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT) recipients, 34 (85%) were HHV-6 IgG positive pre-HSCT. Of which, fourteen patients (14/34, 41.2%) showed positive HHV-6 DNaemia. HHV-6 DNAemia (15/40, 37.5%) was significantly higher among allo (8/12, 66.7%) versus auto (7/28, 25%) HSCT recipients (p = 0.030). Patients with HHV-6 DNAemia developed fever, delayed engraftment and bone marrow suppression in 6/15, 40%, thrombocytopenia (5/15, 33.3%), rash and pneumonitis (2/15, 13.3%), acute GVHD (aGVHD) (1/15, 6.7%). HHV-6 DNAemia ranged from 101 to 102,000 copies/mL. Univariate analysis identified conditioning with busulfan-cyclophosphamide as a significant risk (p = 0.043), while receiving BEAM protocol was a protective factor (p = 0.045). In multivariate analysis, receiving BEAM protocol retained significance (p = 0.040). Frequent HHV-6 reactivation was detected after HSCT, especially in allo-HSCT recipients with clinical manifestations which could not be otherwise explained. To our best knowledge this is the first study of HHV6 reactivation in HSCT recipients from Egypt. Raising awareness for HHV-6 reactivation manifestations and screening in HSCT recipients could be lifesaving.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D011446 Prospective Studies Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group. Prospective Study,Studies, Prospective,Study, Prospective
D004534 Egypt A country in northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula Its capital is Cairo. Arab Republic of Egypt,United Arab Republic
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D015654 Herpesvirus 6, Human Members of the ROSEOLOVIRUS genus of the Betaherpesvirales subfamily isolated from patients with AIDS and other LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS. It infects and replicates in fresh and established lines of hematopoietic cells and cells of neural origin. It also appears to alter the activity of NK CELLS. HHV-6; (HBLV) antibodies are elevated in patients with AIDS; SJOGREN'S SYNDROME; SARCOIDOSIS; CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME, and certain malignancies. HHV-6A is the most common cause of EXANTHEMA SUBITUM and has been implicated in encephalitis. When HHV-6 integrates into the host genome it is referred to as ciHVH-6. When such VIRUS INTEGRATION occurs into the germline it is referred to as iciHHV-6. HBLV,Herpesvirus 6A, Human,Herpesvirus 6B, Human,Human B-Lymphotropic Virus,Chromosomally Integrated Human Herpesvirus 6,Chromosomally Integrated Human Herpesvirus 6A,Chromosomally Integrated Human Herpesvirus 6B,HHV-6,HHV-6A,HHV-6B,HHV6,HHV6A,HHV6B,Human Herpesvirus 6,Human betaherpesvirus 6,Human betaherpesvirus 6A,Human betaherpesvirus 6B,Inherited Chromosomally Integrated Human Herpesvirus 6,Inherited Chromosomally Integrated Human Herpesvirus 6A,Inherited Chromosomally Integrated Human Herpesvirus 6B,ciHHV-6,ciHHV-6A,ciHHV-6B,ciHHV6,ciHHV6A,ciHHV6B,iciHHV-6,iciHHV-6A,iciHHV-6B,iciHHV6,iciHHV6A,iciHHV6B,B-Lymphotropic Virus, Human,B-Lymphotropic Viruses, Human,Human B Lymphotropic Virus,Human B-Lymphotropic Viruses,Human Herpesvirus 6A,Human Herpesvirus 6B,Human betaherpesvirus 6s
D018380 Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Transfer of HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELLS from BONE MARROW or BLOOD between individuals within the same species (TRANSPLANTATION, HOMOLOGOUS) or transfer within the same individual (TRANSPLANTATION, AUTOLOGOUS). Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been used as an alternative to BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION in the treatment of a variety of neoplasms. Stem Cell Transplantation, Hematopoietic,Transplantation, Hematopoietic Stem Cell
D019349 Roseolovirus Infections Infection with ROSEOLOVIRUS, the most common in humans being EXANTHEMA SUBITUM, a benign disease of infants and young children. Infections, Roseolovirus,Infection, Roseolovirus,Roseolovirus Infection
D066027 Transplant Recipients Individuals receiving tissues or organs transferred from another individual of the same or different species, or from within the same individual. Recipient, Transplant,Recipients, Transplant,Transplant Recipient

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