Human Herpesvirus detection and identification in postmortem brain tissue of patients with Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe etiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is not clear yet. One of the hypotheses in this regard is the participation of infectious agents in the origin of this neurodegenerative disease. Different viruses, mainly those that cause latent infections such as some of the Herpesviridae family, have been the most involved. The aim of this study was to detect and identify herpesviruses in postmortem brain tissue of patients with AD.Methodfrozen brain tissues from patients diagnosed with AD (n=22) and from healthy individuals (n=10), as a control group, were included. The search and identification of Human Herpesvirus in the tissues was carried out using microarray technology (Axiom™ Microbiome Array, Thermo scientific, USA) and real‐time multiplex PCR.Resultno viruses were detected using the microarray technology; howeverer, using real‐time multiplex PCR, human herpesviruses VHH‐1, VHH‐2 or VHH4 were identified in two samples of patients with AD and one case in the control group.ConclusionBased on the results obtained in this study, it was not possible to establish an association between AD and the presence of viruses. Yet, it is possible that the viruses play a role in the pathogenesis of AD, perhaps in the early stages of this dementia.