Detection of Epstein-Barr Virus DNA in Gastric Biopsies of Pediatric Patients with Dyspepsia

Abstract

In this study, we assessed the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in gastric samples derived from pediatric patients with dyspeptic symptoms, aiming to understand whether EBV participates in the development of early gastric lesions influencing chronic inflammation, in conjunction with the Helicobacter pylori (Hp) bacterium. We analyzed EBV load in 236 gastric biopsies derived from 186 pediatric patients with chronic dyspepsia and compared it with EBV serology, Hp load and serology, and with immune cell infiltration. We found that 7.5% of patients were positive for EBV load, ranging from 240 to 29,685 genomic copies/μg of DNA. Hp genomic sequences were found in 24.7% of patients. EBV positive samples did not correlate with Hp status and were characterized by absent to moderate immune cell infiltration. To our knowledge, this is the first study addressing EBV load in the stomach in a large cohort of pediatric patients with dyspeptic symptoms, providing evidence of EBV localization in the gastric mucosa in early inflammatory lesions. The lack of correlation between EBV and both Hp infection and inflammation is perhaps explained by independent pathogenic mechanisms or because of the randomness of the gastritis sampling. This is also supported by a moderate association between EBV load and serology.

Detection and quantification of Epstein–Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, and human herpesvirus‐6 in stomach frozen tissue of chronic gastritis and gastric cancer patients

“…12 To date the association EBV and CMV with gastritis have been documented in several case reports or case series. 8,15,20 However, there is little information about the occurrence of HHV-6 infection in the gastrointestinal tract, especially gastritis and its role is not yet well known. In this study, we analyzed the frequency of EBV, CMV, and HHV-6 infections in patients with gastric cancer and chronic gastritis and indicated the correlation between the presence of these viruses with the patient's status.…”

“…CMV, another member of the Herpesviridae family has been linked to several cancers, including colorectal cancer, 11 glioblastoma, 13 and lymphatic metastasis 12 . To date the association EBV and CMV with gastritis have been documented in several case reports or case series 8,15,20 . However, there is little information about the occurrence of HHV‐6 infection in the gastrointestinal tract, especially gastritis and its role is not yet well known.…”

PD-1 and PD-L1 Expression on Circulating Lymphocytes as a Marker of Epstein-Barr Virus Reactivation-Associated Proliferative Glomerulonephritis

“…It is worth noticing, that EBV is enumerated among human viruses with a proven role in oncogenesis, and the development of autoimmune disorders, as well as immunosuppression [40][41][42][43]. The life cycle of EBV is particularly complex and the virus undergoes the latency phase during which it expresses several genes impacting oncogenesis [44][45][46][47]. Recent studies have shown that EBV DNA is present in large quantities in patients with autoimmune diseases of several etiologies [48,49].…”

Detection and Quantification of EBV, CMV and HHV-6 DNA in Stomach Frozen Tissue of Gastritis and Gastric Cancer Patients

“…CMV, another member of the herpesviridae family has been linked to several cancers, including colorectal cancer (11), glioblastoma (13) and lymphatic metastasis (12). To date association EBV and CMV with gastritis have been documented in several case reports or case series (8,15,20). However, there is little information about the occurrence HHV-6 infection in the gastrointestinal tract, especially gastritis and its…”