Lymphomatoid papulosis and human herpesviruses - A PCR-based evaluation for the presence of human herpesvirus 6, 7 and 8 and related herpesviruses

Background: Lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) is a chronic, recurrent lymphoprol iferative disorder of the skin that belongs to the group of primary cutaneo us CD30-positive T-cell lymphomas. Ultrastructural and clinical features of LyP suggest that it has a viral etiology, Human herpesviruses have been pr oposed as causative cofactors for LyP because of their oncogenic potential and their association with other lymphomas. Methods: LyP skin lesions and a LyP-derived cell line were examined for the presence of the recently discovered oncogenic human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) and the two T-lymphotropic human herpesviruses 6 and 7 (HHV-6 and HHV-7) by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using virus-specific oligonucleotid e primers. Furthermore, a recently described method involving degenerate PC R primers was applied to detect highly conserved DNA sequences shared by a variety of herpesviruses, especially oncogenic gamma-herpesviruses, in an a ttempt to identify a yet undiscovered herpesvirus associated with LyP. Results: HHV-6 and 8 could not be found in 26 archival and 11 snap-frozen L yP lesions and a LyP tumor cell line. HHV-7 DNA sequences were detected in 14% (5 of 37) of LyP samples. HHV-6 was found in 23% (3 of 13) and HHV-7 in 8% (1 of 13) of normal skin samples from healthy individuals, respectively . Using degenerate PCR primers to amplify the highly conserved polymerase r egion of herpesviruses, no DNA sequences related to human herpesviruses cou ld be detected. Conclusions: LyP is not associated with HHV-6, HHV-7 and HHV-8. in addition , the studies using degenerate PCR primers do not indicate the presence of a previously undescribed human herpesvirus in LyP.