Comparative analysis of Epstein-Barr virus nucleic acid loads in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and plasma / 中华检验医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To find the rational selection of specimens for the detection of Epstein-Barr virus ( EBV ) DNA.Methods A total of 117 patients were diagnosed with EBV infection at Beijing Friendship Hospital from January to June 2017, including 44 patients with infectious mononucleosis (IM), 36 patients with EBV-associated hemophagocyticlymphohistiocytosis ( HLH ) and 37 patients with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD).Patients were aged from 6 months to 28 years.EBV DNA loads (median and quartile) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and plasmawere detected by real-time quantitative PCR.The viral loads of different specimen types were compared by nonparametric rank sum test ( Mann-Whitney test, M-W test) .Spearman correlation analysis was performed for correlation analysis.Results TheEBV DNA loads in PBMC of IM and PTLD were 53600 (7875,626500) copies/ml and 114000 (3396,590500) copies/ml, which were significantly higher than those in plasma [4500 (675, 8600)copies/ml and 0(0, 0)copies/ml, respectively].The M-W values were 372.5 and 30.5 respectively (both P<0.001), which indicated statistically significant differences .However, the EBV DNA loads in PBMC and plasma of HLH were 5100 (1425, 170000) copies/ml and 13500 (1303, 152500) copies/ml.The M-W value was 646.5 (P=0.991), which indicated no statistically significant difference . Spearman correlation analysis showed good correlations of EBV DNA loads between PBMC and plasmain IM and HLH, and the r values were 0.548 and 0.400, respectively (both P<0.05), while the correlation of EBV DNA loads between PBMC and plasma in PTLD was poor , and the r value was 0.308 ( P>0.05 ) . Conclusions For the diagnosis and monitoring of EBV infection , the types of specimens recommended by different diseases are different .Plasma or serum specimens are recommended for quantitative detection of EBV DNA in IM and HLH, while PBMC and plasma specimens are recommended in PTLD .Clinically, the type of specimen should be chosen reasonably according to the type of disease .