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Analysis of herpes simplex virus type 1 restriction fragment length polymorphism variants associated with herpes gladiatorum and Kaposi's varicelliform eruption in sumo wrestlers

Hiroyuki Eda^1,

Kazuo Yanagi^1,

¹ Herpesvirus Laboratory, Department of Virology I, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Toyama 1-23-1, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
² BML General Institute, Matoba 1361-1, Kawagoe, Saitama 350-1101, Japan
³ Department of Dermatology, Doai Kinen Hospital (Fraternity Memorial Hospital, Japan), Yokoami 2-1-11 Sumida-ku, Tokyo 130-8587, Japan
⁴ Yamanashi Institute of Health, Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan
⁵ Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030-3498, USA

Correspondence
Kazuo Yanagi
kyanagi{at}nih.go.jp

The geographical distribution of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) variants BgK_L and BgO_L and the high relative frequency (RF) of BgK_L in orolabial lesions has led to a dispersion–replacement hypothesis for these variants. The pathogenic properties of HSV-1 variants in mice and professional sumo wrestlers were examined here. The wrestlers herpes gladiatorum (HG) was caused by primary and non-primary HSV-1 infections and recurred in many wrestlers. HSV-1 neutralizing antibody titres in sera from wrestlers who did not develop HG were relatively high. HG was caused by distinct HSV-1 variants and strains from wrestlers living in the same sumo stable. The BgK_L RF was significantly higher in HG cases, particularly in those with Kaposi's varicelliform eruption. These data indicated that reactivation and transmission of latent HSV-1 infections, especially BgK_L, occurred frequently among wrestlers and was caused by severe skin damage. These results support the BgK_L dispersion hypothesis.

Present address: St Louis Laboratories, Pfizer Inc., 700 Chesterfield Parkway West, Mail Zone AA3C Chesterfield, MO 63017, USA.

Present address: AIDS Research Center National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Toyama 1-23-1, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan.

Two supplementary figures and data supplements A–K are available with the online version of this paper.