Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is a ubiquitous, exclusively human alphaherpesvirus. Primary infection usually results in varicella (chickenpox), after which VZV becomes latent in ganglionic neurons along the entire neuraxis. As VZV-specific cell-mediated immunity declines in elderly and immunocompromised individuals, VZV reactivates and causes herpes zoster (shingles), frequently complicated by p...

UNLABELLED Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a human neurotropic alphaherpesvirus and the etiological agent of varicella (chickenpox) and herpes zoster (HZ, shingles). Previously, inoculation of monkeys via the subcutaneous, intratracheal, intravenous, or oral-nasal-conjunctival routes did not recapitulate all the hallmarks of VZV infection, including varicella, immunity, latency, and reactivatio...

The transfer of antigen-specific cellular immunity in human bone marrow transplantation (BMT) was studied in 49 donor-recipient pairs, using a varicella-zoster-virus (VZV) specific lymphoproliferative response (LPR) assay. Posttransplant VZV-LPR could be serially measured in 31 long-term surviving recipients. VZV-specific T-cell immunity was detected in the early posttransplant period in 4 of 1...

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) encodes five gene products that do not have homologs in herpes simplex virus. One of these genes, VZV open reading frame 32 (ORF32), is predicted to encode a protein of 16 kDa. VZV ORF32 protein was shown to be phosphorylated and located in the cytosol of virus-infected cells. Antibody to ORF32 protein immunoprecipitated 16- and 18-kDa phosphoproteins from VZV-infec...

PURPOSE Varicella zoster virus (VZV)-induced retinitis is characterized by the presence of virus-infected cells in the retinal layer and the ocular infiltration of VZV-specific T cells. Herein, the susceptibility of human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells to VZV infection and the ability of virus-specific CD4(+) T cells to control VZV infection in RPE cells in vitro is addressed. METHODS...

Abstract We report a case of varicella zoster virus (VZV)-associated anterior uveitis in patient with weight loss, arthritis and signs inflammatory bowel disease. Her clinical course included the development thalamic stroke secondary to VZV cerebral vasculopathy. Following antiviral therapy, patient’s neurologic symptoms recovered her ophthalmic findings improved.

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes chickenpox and reactivation of latent VZV causes herpes zoster (HZ). VZV reactivation is subject to the opposing mechanisms of declining and boosted VZV-specific cellular mediated immunity (CMI). A reduction in exogenous re-exposure 'opportunities' through universal chickenpox vaccination could therefore lead to an increase in HZ incidence. We present the fir...

this study aimed to investigate the frequency of varicella zoster virus (vzv) in benign and malignant breast tumors. a total of 24 carcinomas and 24 fibroadenomas paraffin embedded tumoral tissue samples were obtained from the pathology sections of toos and firoozgar hospitals in tehran, iran. all samples were collected from patients from june 2011 to february 2012. dna was extracted from all s...

Children treated for acute leukemia are at increased risk of severe infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV). We studied the VZV sero-status of children with acute leukemia prior to starting chemotherapy and after completion of chemotherapy. VZV sero-status was assessed using time resolved fluorescence immunoassay (TRFIA) before starting treatment and 6 months after completion of treatment. ...

BACKGROUND A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that involved 38,546 subjects > or =60 years old demonstrated efficacy of a high-potency live-attenuated Oka/Merck varicella-zoster virus (VZV) vaccine. The trial included an immunology substudy to determine the relationship of VZV-specific immune responses to vaccination and clinical outcome. METHODS The immunology substudy enrolled 1395 su...