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Open Access 01-12-2024 | Research

Detection of HHV-5 HHV-6a HHV-6b and HHV-7 in the urine: potential use as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for immune profiling

Authors: Shelia Govind, Pierre Olivier Lang, Alexander Bürkle, María Moreno-Villanueva, Claudio Franceschi, Miriam Capri, Jurgen Bernard, Birgit Weinberger, Beatrix Grubeck-Loebenstein, Simone Fiegl, Efstathios S. Gonos, Ewa Sikora, Eugène Jansen, Martijn E. T. Dollé, Tilman Grune, Nicolle Breusing, Richard Aspinall

Published in: Immunity & Ageing | Issue 1/2024

Abstract

Decline in immune function with age has been studied extensively, but approaches to immune restoration have been hampered by the lack of simple methods of identifying individuals whose immune system is in decline. Our approach has been to identify individuals whose immune decline has led to a loss of control of common latent viral infections and their consequent reactivation. Viruses excreted in urine were detected and quantified and we believe this approach could provide a 'surrogate marker' for identifying immune compromised individuals.

Here we report the detection of human herpes virus (HHV) 5, 6a, 6b and 7 in the urine of healthy individuals over a wide age range and their correlation with T cell receptor excision circle (TREC) data. The results did not show a clear correlation between TREC values and the detection of individual specific viruses or viral load values when measured singly.

However, a correlation was found between low TREC values and the detection of several different human herpes viruses in the urine in males. We present evidence suggesting that for males, the detection of three or more different human herpes viruses in the urine could identify individuals with declining immune function as evidenced by their significantly lower TREC levels.

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Title: Detection of HHV-5 HHV-6a HHV-6b and HHV-7 in the urine: potential use as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for immune profiling
Authors: Shelia Govind
Pierre Olivier Lang
Alexander Bürkle
María Moreno-Villanueva
Claudio Franceschi
Miriam Capri
Jurgen Bernard
Birgit Weinberger
Beatrix Grubeck-Loebenstein
Simone Fiegl
Efstathios S. Gonos
Ewa Sikora
Eugène Jansen
Martijn E. T. Dollé
Tilman Grune
Nicolle Breusing
Richard Aspinall
Publication date: 01-12-2024
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: Immunity & Ageing / Issue 1/2024
Electronic ISSN: 1742-4933
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12979-024-00490-9

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