INHERITING HERPES?: Parental DNA may pass a common herpesvirus to kids along with instructions for hair and eye color.
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A chip off the old block, a kid inherits a multitude of his or her parents' traits, such as eye and hair color. But new evidence suggests that parents may also pass on a common virus to their offspring hereditarily. Researchers estimate that one of every 116 newborns may have human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infections that originated when the virus inserted its genetic material into that of their parents' DNA.
HHV-6 is the virus responsible for roseola—a mild childhood infection resulting in high fevers and occasionally associated with a rash. In rare cases the infection is accompanied by seizures as well as respiratory and gastrointestinal complications. By age three, nearly all children have acquired the virus, most likely passed through the saliva of caretakers or other kids.
About 1 percent of all infants in the U.S. are born with asymptomatic infections. Scientists have long believed that they were infected in utero when viral particles from their pregnant mothers crossed the placental barrier. But a recent study published in Pediatrics documents a new mechanism for infection in which HHV-6 integrated into parental DNA is passed on at conception.
Following childhood infection HHV-6 remains latent in the human body, although it may reactivate in immunocompromised patients, potentially triggering complications, such as pneumonia or encephalitis (inflammation of the brain and spinal cord). In less than 1 percent of all adults, the virus can also quietly slip its own DNA into the human genome—making it possible for mothers and fathers to pass HHV-6 to their offspring if these insertions are present in their eggs or sperm.
For the study, researchers examined 254 children, ranging in age from newborn to 3 years of age, for signs of congenital HHV-6 infection. Of the 43 infants found to harbor the infection, six contracted it through the placenta, whereas the remaining 37 contracted it from chromosomally integrated virus. Babies that inherited the virus from either parent's DNA exhibited much high levels of virus in their system with urine, blood and even hair follicles testing positive.
"With chromosomal integration, all cells have the virus from the beginning," says senior study author Caroline Hall, a pediatrician at the University of Rochester. But, she adds, it is unclear whether the presence of the virus during development affects a child's health. Even the ability of integrated HHV-6 to replicate producing new infectious virus remains an open question. Researchers have discovered, however, that HHV-6 inserts itself into telomeres, DNA regions at chromosome ends that are important for immune regulation and aging.
Viral integration into telomeres can disrupt chromosome function and spark a plethora of complications, including cancers, says Steven Jacobson, chief of viral immunology at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, who was not involved in the work. In fact, preliminary evidence already exists that HHV-6 may be associated with some lymphomas, a diverse set of cancers affecting the cells of the immune system.
HHV-6 also has been a suspected culprit in neurological disorders, including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and chronic fatigue syndrome. Preliminary evidence even suggests that antiviral therapies could successfully treat central nervous system dysfunctions in patients with chromosomally integrated HHV-6, according to Stanford University infectious disease specialist Jose Montoya and his student Mitchell Lunn, who presented their unpublished work at a recent conference. Undoubtedly, Hall’s latest research will spur other scientists to test more widely for the presence of integrated HHV-6 in patients suffering from these disorders.
For now, Hall and her colleagues plan to continue following the congenitally infected infants to determine if their development is adversely affected by the presence of HHV-6 in their genomes. The good news, Hall notes, is that physicians have the tools to diagnose these inherited infections at birth, empowering families to take preventive measures if further study reveals that HHV-6 adversely affects kids who carry it.
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9 Comments
Add CommentWell written story about an important, curious and concerning ability of viruses to invade the world of humans now and potentially forever.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this20 years ago my friend had herpes her dougter is 12 now can she still get it?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this20 years ago my friend had herpes can her 12 yer old doghter get it now
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGreat study which should lead the way for new research and a better understanding of viral-host interactions.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis kind of host/viral interaction parallels what happens in bacteria all the time. A virus called a bacteriophage integrates into the bacterial DNA and replicates as part of it. When the bacteria is subjected to stress, the virus goes lytic, replicates independently of the bacterial DNA and ultimately destroys the bacteria. In the case of humans, this would be called an infection. I suggest that the longer this DNA integration lasts throughout time, the more damage is sustained by the viral DNA responsible for the infection phase in either humans or bacteria because there is no selection pressure against it. We are probably loaded with lots of inactive viral DNA in various states of degeneration. In fact, I would go so far as to say this has much to do with who we actually are in terms of DNA content.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHave Herpes? You're Not Alone. There are over 70 million people at positiveloves....com same with you. It's common to feel guilty or ashamed when you are diagnosed with herpes. You may feel that your sex life is ruined or that someone you thought you could trust has hurt you. You may feel sad or upset.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIs there anyone out there that can help me????
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI was told I had herpes about 1 year ago. I already had my son whom is 5years old. During my pregnancy no complications, got all the tests for std's except for herpes. I automatically thought that they would test you for all std's. I never knew you had to request a herpes test... Stupid me, now my son is handicapped because his mother didn't know any better...Dj is his name and my heart just breaks everytime I look into his eyes...Dj can't do anything at this time....he has all the symptoms that is mentioned in the aritcle. We are still going to dr's to try and find out what happpened, but I think I have the answer!!! Is there any way my son can be helped???? Heartbreaking...I'm reading this article and saying OMG...This what happened to my son.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe herpes virus type 6 referred to in this article is not the same as the equally common but more well known Oral and Genital Herpes Simplex Virus types I and II respectively which cause "cold sore" vesicles and can be transmitted from person to person during intimacy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhen we general refer to someone having "Herpes" we refer to the fever blister causing herpes, never to the virus discussed in this article. The Herpes Simplex viruses, types I and II have infected approximately 90% and 30% of folk by the time adulthood is reached. The viruses hide in latent form, undetectable, for the lifetime after that. Very rarely, during times of stress, these common viruses can recur in a band like rash in a nerve root distribution, (very similar to the band of painful vesicles seen more commonly when occult and latent chicken pox also hidden in nerve cells, gets reactivated by stress, and is diagnosed as Herpes Zooster).
There is no evidence that you have anything to do with the ailments affecting your child. We have a lot to learn, but we do know that infectious diseases are in most parts normal COMMUNITY problems and inherent in having societies with people living together. The viruses are part of our biosphere. Who knows, some may even be useful! Certainly, a mother cannot be at blame for an infection of a child from a virus that's inherent in being part of our society!
The virus mentioned in this article, is fascinating as it happens to be present in almost everyone eventually, causes most generally mild symptoms and rosacea in infants, is passed to 1% of newborn via sperm or ovum and that's all we are absolutely certain about. It might be related to lymphomas or to epilepsy and multiple sclerosis. However, these are matters for research and we have neither facts nor proven interventions to make reliable differences in the courses of the diseases, although some early studies suggest promise using anti-virals. All this has little to nothing to do with what we generally refer to as an "Herpes" Infection!! You could just as well be reading an article about polio or the common cold. It's interesting, but does not give you useful insights to the consequences of what we call "Herpes", i.e. Herpes Simplex Viruses, Types 1 and II.
So again, this article is not about Herpes Simplex Viruses that one has to admit to a new partner. The Herpes we worry about here the virus that causes vesicles, (fever blisters), around the mouth, (Herpes Simplex Type 1) or on or around the genitals, Herpes Simplex Virus Type II.