Herpesviruses in HIV-periodontitis

Aim of the study

The aim of this article is to study the occurrence of 7 herpesviruses in gingival biopsies from HIV positive patients with periodontitis. The amplified PCR method was used to detect the presence of these viruses.

Materials and methods

Twenty-one gingival biopsies of periodontal lesions were studied from 21 HIV positive patients. The control group consisted of 14 patients not infected with HIV who presented with periodontitis. Nested PCR methods were used to detect viral DNA from HIV, HCMV, EBV-1, EBV-2, HSV, HHV-6, HHV-7, and HHV-8.

Results

Gingival biopsies from seropositive patients showed an average of 4 herpes viruses, whilst the healthy patients showed only 1.9 (significant by the Student t-test). EBV-2, HHV-6 and co-infections with from 4 to 6 herpesviruses were found more frequently in patients who were carriers of the AIDS virus. EBV-2 and HHV-8 were detected only in seropositive patients.

Conclusion

HIV-periodontitis is associated with high levels of herpesvirus and co-infections with EBV-2 and HHV-6, compared with gingival biopsies from seronegative patients.

Commentaries

It would be interesting to study the role of active infections with the herpesvirus in the aetiology of necrotic forms of HIV-periodontitis.