Comparative Evaluation of Three Serological Methods for Detection of Human Herpesvirus 8-specific Antibodies in Canadian Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) has been associated with all types of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), including posttransplantation KS. However, little is known regarding HHV-8 infections in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (SCT) recipients. In this study, we used a variety of serological assays, including in-house-developed enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) utilizing synthetic peptides corresponding to lytic viral antigens (ORFs 65 and K8.1) and a commercial EIA kit based on a whole virus lysate (Advanced Biotechnologies Inc.), as well as latent- and lytyc-antigen-based immunofluorescence assays (IFAs) to determine the seroprevalence of HHV-8 in 42 allogeneic SCT recipients from Canada. Using the two peptide-based EIA methods as for screening, HHV-8-specific antibodies were detected in five (12%) patients between days 21 and 91, although only one (2%) subject was positive for HHV-8-specific antibodies before transplantation. All positive results from these five patients were confirmed by at least one of the IFAs, with an additional patient showing seropositivity before transplantation. However, the commercial EIA was negative at all time points (days -7, 21, and 91) in those five patients. The episodes of seroconversion or reactivation were not associated with sustained viremia, since HHV-8 DNA was not detected by real-time PCR in the corresponding leukocytes and plasma of the seropositive patients. No clinical or laboratory abnormalities were clearly associated with HHV-8 seropositivity. This study confirms the utility of simple peptide-based EIA methods to assess the presence of HHV-8-specific antibodies in immunocompromised patients and emphasizes the need of conducting prospective studies to determine the source of HHV-8 infection in SCT recipients.