Comparative analysis of Epstein-Barr virus nucleic acid loads in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and plasma

Abstract

Objective To find the rational selection of specimens for the detection of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA. Methods A total of 117 patients were diagnosed with EBV infection at Beijing Friendship Hospital from January to June 2017, including 44 patients with infectious mononucleosis (IM), 36 patients with EBV-associated hemophagocyticlymphohistiocytosis (HLH) and 37 patients with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD). Patients were aged from 6 months to 28 years. EBV DNA loads (median and quartile) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and plasmawere detected by real-time quantitative PCR. The viral loads of different specimen types were compared by nonparametric rank sum test (Mann-Whitney test, M-W test). Spearman correlation analysis was performed for correlation analysis. Results TheEBV DNA loads in PBMC of IM and PTLD were 53 600 (7 875, 626 500) copies/ml and 114 000 (3 396, 590 500) copies/ml, which were significantly higher than those in plasma[4 500 (675, 8 600)copies/ml and 0(0, 0)copies/ml, respectively]. The M-W values were 372.5 and 30.5 respectively (both P 0.05). Conclusions For the diagnosis and monitoring of EBV infection, the types of specimens recommended by different diseases are different. Plasma or serum specimens are recommended for quantitative detection of EBV DNA in IM and HLH, while PBMC and plasma specimens are recommended in PTLD.Clinically, the type of specimen should be chosen reasonably according to the type of disease.(Chin J Lab Med, 2018, 41: 755-758) Key words: Herpesvirus 4, human; DNA, viral; ViralLoad; Leukocytes, mononuclear