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Detection of Epstein-Barr Virus in Epidermal Skin Lesions of an Immunocompromised Patient
- Jean-Paul Fermand, MD;
- Joël Gozlan, MD;
- Albert Bendelac, MD;
- Marie-Christine Delauche-Cavallier, MD;
- Jean-Claude Brouet, MD, PhD; and
- Frédéric Morinet, MD
Abstract
Using in-situ hybridization, we showed the presence of the Epstein-Barr (EB) virus genome in epidermal cells from a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and unusual cutaneous lesions characterized clinically by a maculopapular eruption and histologically by epidermal cell degeneration and lymphoid cell infiltration. Such histologic changes are similar to those seen in graft-versus-host disease. The EB virus genome was mainly detected in the basal, germinative cells of the abnormal epithelium. Specimens of our patient's healthy skin were negative. The presence of EB virus DNA in skin lesions was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction adapted for analysis of paraffin-embedded tissue. These findings indicate that EB virus can infect the human epidermis and that the viral infection may produce a distinctive cutaneous disease.
Article and Author Information
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From Hôpital Saint-Louis, Paris, France. For current author addresses, see end of text.
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Requests for Reprints: J.P. Fermand, MD, Laboratory of Immunochemistry and Immunopathology, INSERM U 108, Hôpital Saint-Louis, 1 avenue Claude Vellefaux, 75475 Paris Cedex 10, France.
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Current Author Addresses: Drs. Fermand, Delauche-Cavallier, and Brouet: Service d'Immunohématologie et d'Immunopathologie, Hôpital Saint-Louis, 1 avenue Claude Vellefaux, 75475 Paris Cedex 10, France. Drs. Gozlan and Morinet: Laboratoire de Microbiologie, Hôpital Saint-Louis, 1 avenue Claude Vellefaux, 75475 Paris Cedex 10, France. Dr. Bendelac: Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology, National Institutes of Health, Building 4, Room 111, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892.
- © 1990 American College of Physicians
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