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The possible involvement of human herpesvirus type 6 in obliterative bronchiolitis after bone marrow transplantation

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 32, pages 1103–1105 (2003)Cite this article

Obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) is a serious long-term complication after bone marrow transplantation (BMT), and develops in about 10% of patients.1 There is no doubt that OB is related to an alloimmune reaction because it is rare in other situations. However, there are likely to be other contributing factors because the disease has ‘tropism’ to some patients and the small airways. There are reports suggesting the possible contribution of viral infection in the development of OB,2 but this has not been proven yet.

Human herpesvirus (HHV)-6 infects various types of cells, and can reactivate in immunosuppressed individuals, including after BMT.3 Its presence has been observed in the lungs of BMT patients with interstitial pneumonia.4 However, the relationship between OB and HHV-6 has not been studied. Here, we report a patient with OB after BMT in whom we show the localization of HHV-6 in the small airways by indirect in situ polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the first time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Infectious and Respiratory Diseases Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan

    K Nishimaki, S Okada, I Ohno, Y Ashino & T Hattori

  2. Department of Hematology and Collagen Diseases Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan

    K Miyamura

  3. Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan

    T Sugawara & T Kondo

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  1. K Nishimaki
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  2. S Okada
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  3. K Miyamura
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Nishimaki, K., Okada, S., Miyamura, K. et al. The possible involvement of human herpesvirus type 6 in obliterative bronchiolitis after bone marrow transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplant 32, 1103–1105 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1704269

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