Herpes Simplex Virus and Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare histiocytic proliferative disorder of unknown etiology and mainly affects young children. The histological feature is granuloma-like proliferation of langerhans-type dendritic cells. Although the possible role of viruses such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV, Human Herpes virus -4), Human Herpes virus-6 (HHV-6), Herpes Simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2 and Cytomegalovirus (CMV, Human Herpes virus-5) is suggested in the pathogenesis of LCH by some investigators, its exact pathophysiology has not been cleared yet. In this study, we investigated the presence of HSV types 1 and 2 in Iranian children with LCH.

In this retrospective study, we investigated the prevalence of presence of HSV types 1 and 2 (in 30 patients with LCH), using paraffin-embedded tissue samples and 30 age and tissue-matched controls (operated for reasons other than infectious diseases) from the Department of Pediatric Pathology, Tehran, Iran, by nested Polymerase Chain reaction method. No ethical issues arose in the study, because only the pathology reports were reviewed and patients were anonymous.

We failed to find HSV types 1 and 2 DNA in any of the 30 patients with LCH or the control group.

According to our findings, HSV types 1 and 2 do not appear to have any etiologic role in the pathogenesis of LCH in Iranian children. These results are in accordance with previous investigations with negative findings.