TY - JOUR
T1 - Cardiotropic viruses in the myocardium of children with end-stage heart disease
AU - Francalanci, Paola
AU - Chance, Jamie L.
AU - Vatta, Matteo
AU - Jimenez, Shinawe
AU - Li, Hua
AU - Towbin, Jeffrey A.
AU - Bowles, Neil E.
PY - 2004/9
Y1 - 2004/9
N2 - Background Transplantation has become a lifesaving procedure for children with end-stage heart failure. The long-term outcome for children who undergo transplantation has been of considerable interest, but the causes of graft failure and death are largely unknown, and the role of pre-transplant viral infection is unclear. Methods Myocardial samples from 80 explanted hearts from children with end-stage heart disease caused by congenital heart disease (CHD), cardiomyopathy, or chronic rejection were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for cardiotropic viruses using virus-specific primers. We used immunohistochemical analysis of cytoskeletal proteins to evaluate myocyte architecture. Results We identified parvoviral genomes in 6 patients (3 with CHD and 3 with cardiomyopathy). We detected no other viruses. Immunohistochemistry showed normal staining for key components of the cytoskeleton/sarcolemma, sarcomere, and nuclear membrane in the 6 virus-positive samples. The clinical outcome of these children was worse (4 long-term survivors, but 2 deaths) than for individuals without the genome. Conclusions Detecting viruses within the myocardium at the point of end-stage heart failure is not common, regardless of the primary pathology. However, the presence of viruses may result in poor outcome for the patient.
AB - Background Transplantation has become a lifesaving procedure for children with end-stage heart failure. The long-term outcome for children who undergo transplantation has been of considerable interest, but the causes of graft failure and death are largely unknown, and the role of pre-transplant viral infection is unclear. Methods Myocardial samples from 80 explanted hearts from children with end-stage heart disease caused by congenital heart disease (CHD), cardiomyopathy, or chronic rejection were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for cardiotropic viruses using virus-specific primers. We used immunohistochemical analysis of cytoskeletal proteins to evaluate myocyte architecture. Results We identified parvoviral genomes in 6 patients (3 with CHD and 3 with cardiomyopathy). We detected no other viruses. Immunohistochemistry showed normal staining for key components of the cytoskeleton/sarcolemma, sarcomere, and nuclear membrane in the 6 virus-positive samples. The clinical outcome of these children was worse (4 long-term survivors, but 2 deaths) than for individuals without the genome. Conclusions Detecting viruses within the myocardium at the point of end-stage heart failure is not common, regardless of the primary pathology. However, the presence of viruses may result in poor outcome for the patient.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.healun.2003.08.015
DO - 10.1016/j.healun.2003.08.015
M3 - Article
C2 - 15454170
AN - SCOPUS:5144222435
VL - 23
SP - 1046
EP - 1052
JO - Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation
JF - Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation
SN - 1053-2498
IS - 9
ER -