PCR Analysis of the Herpesviruses Presence in Crevicular Fluid in HIV- Positive Patients

Abstract

The present study aimed to determine the frequency of herpesviruses in gingival fluid samples in patients with periodontitis HIV compared to HIV-negative subjects. Gingival crevicular fluid samples were obtained from 28 patients with HIV-positive periodontitis and from 14 patients with HIV seronegative periodontitis. Herpesviruses have been identified by PCR amplification methods. In HIV-positive patients, the most prevalent herpes virus was HCMV, followed by HHV-6 and HHV-7. In non-HIV-related periodontitis, HCMV was identified in 11 samples and EBV-1 in 8 samples, followed by HSV (7 samples). HIV seropositive samples showed an average of 4.0 herpesviruses and HIV-seronegative individuals averaging 1.4 herpesviruses. EBV-2 and HHV-8 were detected exclusively in subgingival samples from HIV-positive patients. HIV-induced activation of herpes viruses may be a stimulating factor for rapid periodontal destruction. Patients with severe immunosuppression may experience herpesvirus-mediated gingival necrosis. The hypothesis that HIV periodontitis is the result of a combined infection of herpesviruses and bacterial pathogens should be studied further.