Tarbiat Modares University Infection Epidemiology and Microbiology 2588-4107 9 3 2023 10 01 Association between Torque Teno Virus Frequency and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Potential Trigger for Autoimmune Diseases 257 263 1934 10.61186/iem.9.3.257 EN Mohammad Shayestehpour Autoimmune Diseases Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran Faezeh Ebneali Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran Batool Zamani Autoimmune Diseases Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran Ahmad Piroozmand Autoimmune Diseases Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran Kamal Esalatmanesh Autoimmune Diseases Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran Zahrasadat Fateminasab Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran Shaghayegh Yazdani Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. Research Center for Clinical Virology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 1970 01 01 Background: Infectious agents are considered as one of the possible etiological factors of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). It has been suggested that torque teno virus (TTV) may trigger autoimmune disorders, but few studies have been conducted on the relationship between this virus and autoimmune diseases, especially SLE. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between TTV frequency and SLE. Materials & Methods: Serum samples were collected from a total of 116 participants, including 58 healthy people and 58 SLE patients who referred to the rheumatology clinic of Shahid-Beheshti hospital in Kashan, Iran from January 2020 to January 2021. After the extraction of viral DNA from the samples, a nested PCR test was performed using specific primers to detect TTV. Findings: TTV was detected in 43 SLE patients (74.1%, 95% CI: 63.4-86.2) and 33 healthy individuals (56.9%, 95% CI: 44.1-69.0). A significant correlation was found between SLE and the presence of TTV (r= .32, p= .03). There was no correlation between the presence of TTV and musculoskeletal involvements, skin lesions, renal manifestations, and hematological manifestations (r< .05, p> .05). TTV was detected more frequently in patients with active lupus than in patients with quiescent disease, and this difference was significant (p= .048). Conclusion: A significant association between TTV and SLE was observed in the present study; however, further studies are needed to investigate the role of TTV in the pathogenesis and clinical course of SLE.

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