Quantitative detection of HHV-6 and HHV-7 in transbronchial biopsies from lung transplant recipients.

The occurrence and significance of HHV-6 and HHV-7 were investigated in pulmonary tissue from lung transplant recipients. Eighty-seven transbronchial biopsies from 30 patients were studied by quantitative real-time PCR; the association with histopathological features was investigated. HHV-6 and HHV-7-DNA were detected in 6.9% and 9.2% transbronchial biopsies, respectively. A significant association between HHV-6 detection on transbronchial biopsies and interstitial pneumonia was found, in contrast to the lack of association between viral detection on bronchoalveolar lavage and any histopathological feature. No association was evidenced in terms of acute and chronic rejection. The finding of HHV-6 and/or HHV-7-DNA positivity in all the cases with ischemia-reperfusion injury suggests a possible role in favouring ?-herpesviruses reactivation, as previously described for HCMV in renal transplantation.