Host immunogenetics and control of human herpesvirus-8 infection
BACKGROUND: Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is primarily caused by human herpesvirus (HHV)-8 infection, and the risk is increased with high HHV-8 lytic or latent antibody titers or the detection of HHV-8 DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Host genes important for control of HHV-8 infection are not well characterized. METHODS: In 172 HHV-8 latent nuclear antigen (LANA)-seropositive adults in Italy without KS, we examined correlations of common variants in host immune genes with the detection of HHV-8 DNA in PBMCs and with high lytic and latent antibody titers. Twenty-eight single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 14 genes were analyzed. We detected HHV-8 DNA in PBMCs with real-time amplificati…
HIV Infection in 403 Female Prostitutes in Italy
Since the beginning of HIV epidemic, it became clear that the modality of transmission was different between Western Countries and Africa (1). Infact, in Africa heterosexual contact is the most important factor in the spread of HIV infection and female prostitutes are considered to be the major reservoir of HIVinfection (2).