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Case Reports
. 2023 Dec;42(12):1531-1535.
doi: 10.1007/s10096-023-04688-5. Epub 2023 Oct 23.

Severe acute herpes virus type 2 primo-infection and its association with anti-type 1 interferon autoantibodies

Martin Martinot  1 , Simon Gravier  2 , Mahsa Mohseni-Zadeh  2 , Nicole Fabien  3 , Jean-Laurent Casanova  4   5   6   7   8 , Anne Puel  4   5   6 , David Goncalves  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Severe acute herpes virus type 2 primo-infection and its association with anti-type 1 interferon autoantibodies

Martin Martinot et al. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is a common cause of infection, which is usually self-limited and asymptomatic. A 71-year-old patient with HSV-2 primo-infection developed acute hepatitis and secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. The patient had high levels of autoantibodies against type I interferon (IFN) (> 1000 ng/mL), neutralizing high concentration (10 ng/mL) of both IFN-α and IFN-ω but not IFN-β. Anti-IFN-I auto-antibodies are rarely observed in healthy individuals; however, their prevalence increases in individuals over 70 years of age and have been identified as a cause of some severe viral diseases, including critical COVID-19. Considering the function of IFN-I in innate immunity, the pathological role of these autoantibodies in severe viral diseases following primo-infections in elderly patient appears crucial.

Keywords: Acute hepatitis; Anti-type I interferon autoantibodies, FN-I, Auto-Abs; Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis; Herpes simplex virus type 2; Viral primo-infection.

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