BACKGROUND: For a long time, enteroviruses have been considered to be the most common cause of acute viral myocarditis (MC), with possible transition from MC to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Recent investigations have shown, however, that other viruses are also frequently encountered in MC patients, suggesting that persistence of various virus species may play a pathogenic role in the transition from MC to DCM. The purpose of this study was to screen endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) from patients with "idiopathic" DCM for the presence of viral genomes by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to assess the frequency of cardiac viral infections that may be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: EMBs were obtained for PCR analysis from 245 consecutive patients (median left ventricular ejection fraction, 35.0%; range, 9% to 59%). PCR and reverse transcription-PCR were performed to detect the genomic sequences of enterovirus (EV), adenovirus (ADV), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), herpes simplex virus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), parvovirus B19 (PVB19), and influenza A and B viruses. Myocardial inflammation was assessed by histological and immunohistological analyses. Viral genomes could be amplified from EMBs of 165 (67.4%) of the 245 DCM patients: EV=23 (9.4%), ADV=4 (1.6%), PVB19=126 (51.4%), HHV-6=53 (21.6%), EBV=5 (2.0%), HCMV=2 (0.8%), including n=45 cases (27.3%) with multiple infections. Active or borderline myocarditis according to the Dallas classification did not exist in any case. Lymphocyte and macrophage infiltrates were not significantly different in virus-positive versus virus-negative patients. CONCLUSIONS: Viral genomes were frequently detected in EMBs of patients with systolic left ventricular dysfunction. Our data suggest that myocardial persistence of various viruses, often presenting as multiple infections, may play a role in the pathogenesis of DCM far more frequently than suspected so far.
BACKGROUND: For a long time, enteroviruses have been considered to be the most common cause of acute viral myocarditis (MC), with possible transition from MC to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Recent investigations have shown, however, that other viruses are also frequently encountered in MC patients, suggesting that persistence of various virus species may play a pathogenic role in the transition from MC to DCM. The purpose of this study was to screen endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) from patients with "idiopathic" DCM for the presence of viral genomes by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to assess the frequency of cardiac viral infections that may be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: EMBs were obtained for PCR analysis from 245 consecutive patients (median left ventricular ejection fraction, 35.0%; range, 9% to 59%). PCR and reverse transcription-PCR were performed to detect the genomic sequences of enterovirus (EV), adenovirus (ADV), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), herpes simplex virus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), parvovirus B19 (PVB19), and influenza A and B viruses. Myocardial inflammation was assessed by histological and immunohistological analyses. Viral genomes could be amplified from EMBs of 165 (67.4%) of the 245 DCMpatients: EV=23 (9.4%), ADV=4 (1.6%), PVB19=126 (51.4%), HHV-6=53 (21.6%), EBV=5 (2.0%), HCMV=2 (0.8%), including n=45 cases (27.3%) with multiple infections. Active or borderline myocarditis according to the Dallas classification did not exist in any case. Lymphocyte and macrophage infiltrates were not significantly different in virus-positive versus virus-negative patients. CONCLUSIONS: Viral genomes were frequently detected in EMBs of patients with systolic left ventricular dysfunction. Our data suggest that myocardial persistence of various viruses, often presenting as multiple infections, may play a role in the pathogenesis of DCM far more frequently than suspected so far.
Authors: John P Breinholt; Mousumi Moulik; William J Dreyer; Susan W Denfield; Jeffrey J Kim; John L Jefferies; Joseph W Rossano; Corey M Gates; Sarah K Clunie; Karla R Bowles; Debra L Kearney; Neil E Bowles; Jeffrey A Towbin Journal: J Heart Lung Transplant Date: 2010-04-24 Impact factor: 10.247
Authors: Petr Kuchynka; Tomas Palecek; Hana Hrbackova; Ivana Vitkova; Stanislav Simek; Eduard Nemecek; Viktor Aster; William E Louch; Michael Aschermann; Ales Linhart Journal: Wien Klin Wochenschr Date: 2010-09-28 Impact factor: 1.704
Authors: C-Thomas Bock; Anja Düchting; Friederike Utta; Eva Brunner; Bui Tien Sy; Karin Klingel; Florian Lang; Meinrad Gawaz; Stephan B Felix; Reinhard Kandolf Journal: World J Cardiol Date: 2014-04-26
Authors: Päivi Norja; Kati Hokynar; Leena-Maija Aaltonen; Renwei Chen; Annamari Ranki; Esa K Partio; Olli Kiviluoto; Irja Davidkin; Tomi Leivo; Anna Maria Eis-Hübinger; Beate Schneider; Hans-Peter Fischer; René Tolba; Olli Vapalahti; Antti Vaheri; Maria Söderlund-Venermo; Klaus Hedman Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2006-05-01 Impact factor: 11.205