The bloodsucking arthropod bite as possible cofactor in the transmission of human herpesvirus-8 infection and in the expression of Kaposi's sarcoma disease

Abstract

Based on a review of the literature on human herpesvirus-8 (HHV8) and Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and on the distribution of KS in Italy (Veneto region particularly), we hypothesize that the bite of bloodsucking arthropods is a cofactor in the seroconversion to HHV8 positivity and probably in the pathogenesis of KS. The bloodsucking arthropod releases with saliva powerful antihaemostatics and immunomodulators which may favour the replication and the establishment of the pathogen. Transmission would depend on the close contact of the child with a seropositive mother (or relatives) whose infective saliva is used to relieve itching and scratching at the arthropod bite's sites. During any deregulation of the immune system (e.g. ageing), local immune responses to new insect bites may induce virus activation which could prelude KS insurgence. The pathogen is not directly transmitted by the arthropod which merely prepares the cutaneous microenvironment for the virus. We have therefore introduced a new category of medically important arthropods, "promoter arthropods", besides those already defined as biological or mechanical vectors. Promoter arthropods are species able to induce in the host long-lasting, immediate or delayed-type hypersensitivity responses as well as local immunosuppression due to substances injected with their saliva. The striking variability of ORF-K1 gene of HHV8 could be due to the adaptation of the virus to the specific microenvironments resulting from the immune response to the salivary antigens characteristic of the bloodsucking arthropod species prevalent in each geographical area. It is worth noting that other viruses (especially Hepatitis B Virus) may exploit the same non-sexual transmission route.