Herpes Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Herpes, including details on herpes simplex virus (hsv), genital, oral, symptoms, treatment.

Polymorphisms in TLR2 are associated with increased viral shedding and lesional rate in patients with genital herpes simplex virus Type 2 infection.

Bochud PY, Magaret AS, Koelle DM, Aderem A, Wald A

Institute for Systems Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98103, USA. pyb@systemsbiology.org

Clinical and virologic manifestations of genital herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection vary widely. We examined frequencies of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 2, 3, 4, and 9 in a prospective cohort of 128 HSV-2-infected persons whose viral shedding and lesion frequency was measured by daily sampling from genital secretions. Two TLR2 haplotypes (2 and 4) were associated with increased lesional (P=.008 and P=.03) and shedding (P=.02 and P=.001) rates. An SNP in haplotype 2 (-15607A/G) was also associated with shedding (P=.01) and lesional (P=.008) rates. Polymorphisms in TLR2 may be in part responsible for differences in the severity of HSV-2 infection.

Published 12 July 2007 in J Infect Dis, 196(4): 505-9.
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