Molecular detection of human herpesviruses in pleural effusions after lung transplantion

Alkan, Gülümser Hale; Mümmler, Carlo; Khmelovska, Daria; Weiss, Nicole; Briegel, Ignaz; Veit, Tobias; Trost, Stefan; Barton, Jürgen; Arnold, Paola; Rieger, Florian; Dächert, Christopher; Stoleriu, Gabriel Mircea; Michel, Sebastian; Schneider, Christian; Kauke, Teresa; Yildirim, Ali Önder; Kneidinger, Nikolaus; Behr, Jürgen; Gerckens, Michael (2026): Molecular detection of human herpesviruses in pleural effusions after lung transplantion. Journal of Clinical Virology Plus, 6 (2): 100245. ISSN 2667-0380

Abstract

Background

Lymphocytic pleural effusions of unclear etiology are frequent after lung transplantation and are associated with adverse outcomes. Reactivation of human herpesviruses, in particular Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), has been demonstrated to account for a share of unclear pleural effusions in immunocompetent and -compromised patients. Here, we assessed the detection of human herpesviruses in a large lung transplant pleural effusion cohort.

Methods

A prospectively sampled cohort of 99 pleural effusions of 67 lung transplant recipients was analyzed for HSV-1, HSV-2, EBV, CMV, HHV-6 and HHV-7 by qPCR. Clinical characteristics were compared between virus-positive versus negative pleural effusions.

RESULTS

EBV could be detected in 35 %, HHV-6 in 19 %, CMV in 4 % and HHV-7 in 1 % of assessed pleural effusion samples, whereas HSV-1 and HSV-2 could not be detected. Median viral load for EBV was 1500 copies/ml, for HHV-6 1300 copies/ml and for CMV 163 copies/ml. Overall, no relevant differences were found comparing the characteristics of EBV-, HHV6- and CMV-positive versus negative pleural effusions.

Conclusions

Herpesviruses can be detected in low copy numbers in a share of lung transplant pleural effusions. However, they do not seem to account for the high rate of unclear lymphocytic effusions after lung transplantation.

• Dokumententyp: Artikel (Klinikum der LMU)
• Organisationseinheit (Fakultäten): 07 Medizin > Klinikum der LMU München > Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik III (Onkologie)
• DFG-Fachsystematik der Wissenschaftsbereiche: Lebenswissenschaften
• DFG: Gefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - 491502892