Lower CMV and EBV Exposure in Children With Kawasaki Disease Suggests an Under-Challenged Immune System

Frontiers in Pediatrics

article

Diana van Stijn-Bringas Dimitriades¹  Annemarie Slegers¹  Hans Zaaijer²  Taco Kuijpers¹ 

[1] Department of Pediatric Immunology, Emma Children's Hospital, Amsterdam University Medical Center, University of Amsterdam;Laboratory of Clinical Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Center for Infection and Immunity Amsterdam University Medical Center, University of Amsterdam

关键词: Kawasaki disease;    Epstein-Barr virus;    immune system;    viral exposure;    cytomegalovirus;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fped.2020.627957

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Background: Kawasaki Disease (KD) is a pediatric vasculitis of which the pathogenesis is unclear. The hypothesis is that genetically pre-disposed children develop KD when they encounter a pathogen which remains most often unidentified or pathogen derived factors. Since age is a dominant factor, prior immune status in children could influence their reactivity and hence the acquisition of KD. We hypothesized that systemic immune responses early in life could protect against developing KD. With this study we tested whether the incidence of previous systemic cytomegalovirus (CMV) or Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is lower in children with KD compared to healthy age-matched controls. Methods and Results: We compared 86 KD patients with an age-matched control group regarding CMV and EBV VCA IgG measurements (taken before or 9 months after IVIG treatment). We found that both CMV and EBV had an almost 2-fold lower seroprevalence in the KD population than in the control group. Conclusions: We suggest that an under-challenged immune system causes an altered immune reactivity which may affect the response to a pathological trigger causing KD in susceptible children.

【 授权许可】

CC BY