0880

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HYDROA VACCINIFORME AND LATENT EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS INFECTION

Xu Z-G, Ma L, Xing H, Zhao P-Y, Sun Y-J

Dept. of Dermatology, Beijng Children’s Hospital, Beijing, China

Objective: Hydroa vacciniforme (HV) is a rare photosensitivity disease characterized by the childhood onset of necrotic lesions on uncovered skin. Spontaneous improvement at puberty or by the late teenage years, with the tendency to heal with scarring, is the typical course. However, the causes of HV remain uncertain. This study aimed to analyze the clinicophathologic features of HV and elucidate the association of latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection with HV.

Methods: Five patients were enrolled in this study. Paraffin-embedded skin tissues were used for in situ hybridization (ISH) to detect EBV-encoded RNA (EBER), and for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect EBV genes. EBV-positive cell line, 95.8, and –negative cell line, Molt, were included as controls.

Results: All 5 patients had recurrent, erythematous and vescular eruptions with scarring for years. Histologically, epidermal necrosis or blister formation associated with dense lymphocytic infiltration was commonly seen. The evidence of latent EBV infection was found in 4 of 5 cases. ISH study performed on biopsy specimens demonstrated the presence of various amounts of lymphocytes containing EBER in the infiltrates. Furthermore, EBV BWRF1 gene was amplified in all EBER+ cases by PCR, and the product was 288bp.

Conclusion: our current study showed the evidence of latent EBV infection in cases of HV, suggesting that EBV may be responsible for the development of HV.