BACKGROUND The objectives of this study were to determine i) the prevalence of oral Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in HIV-infected subjects compared to non-HIV controls, and ii) the effects of long-term use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on the prevalence of oral EBV. METHODS A cross-sectional study was performed in HIV-infected subjects with and without ART, and non-HIV individuals. DNA in saliva samples was extracted and used as a template to detect EBV BamH1W and EBNA1 by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Student t-test and ANOVA test were performed to determine the prevalence rates among groups. RESULTS Forty-nine HIV-infected subjects; 37 on ART (age range 23–54 yr, mean 37 yr), 12 not on ART (age range 20–40 yr, mean 31 yr), and 20 non-HIV controls (age range 19–53 yr, mean 31 yr) were enrolled. The numbers of EBV BamH1W in saliva were found to be significantly higher in HIV-infected subjects than non-HIV controls (80% vs 20%, mean=12,118 vs. 134 copies/10^{5} cells, p <0.001). HIV-infected subjects who were on ART had significantly lower numbers of EBV BamH1W than those who were not (mean= 4,102 vs. 138,613 copies/10^{5} cells, p =0.011). The numbers were significantly lower in those who received long-term ART compared with short-term (mean= 1,401 vs. 11,124 copies/10^{5} cells, p =0.034). No significant difference was observed between the groups when using EBNA1 primers. CONCLUSIONS Prevalence of oral EBV was significantly higher in HIV-infected subjects than non-HIV-controls. The numbers of the virus was significantly decreased by ART. Long-term use of ART did not increase oral EBV.
【저자키워드】 HIV, Saliva, Antiretroviral therapy, Oncogenic virus, Oral Epstein-Barr virus,