Pathophysiological mechanisms of parvovirus B19 infection.

摘要

Schenk et al. reported a high prevalence (67) of parvovirus B19 (B19V) DNA in myocardial autopsy samples from subjects without acute myocarditis (AMC) or dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The presence of B19V DNA was highly associated with B19V immunoglobulin G (IgG) seropositivity, and the prevalence corresponded to the previously reported prevalence in patients presenting with AMC and DCM, who had viral loads comparable to those in the samples evaluated by Schenk et al. The distribution of B19V genotypes was age related according to the known epidemiological shift. The authors conclude that the detection of B19V genomes in myocardial tissues by PCR has to be interpreted carefully and is not proof of a causal relationship between B19V infection and cardiac disease (14). These data indicate the necessity of additional diagnostic parameters apart from the mere PCR amplification of B19V DNA, the quantification of the B19V load, and genotype analysis for establishing the etiopathogenic link of B19V infection to AMC and DCM.