Detection of Hantaan Viral Antigens in Renal Tissues from a Patient with Korean Hemorrhagic Fever in Convalescent Phase

A case of a patient with Korean hemorrhagic fever (KHF) who showed typical clinical manifestations is described for the purpose of reporting the detection of Hantaan viral antigens in renal tissues. The pathophysiologic mechanisms of renal damage are not well known, and several mechanisms including direct renal injury by the virus itself have been proposed to explain the renal lesions and the clinical manifestations. We detected Hantaan viral antigens in renal tissues from a KHF patient in the convalescent phase by the immunohistochemical method using the monoclonal antibodies to Hantaan viral envelope glycoproteins (G1, G2). The immunostainings demonstrated Hantaan viral antigens in the renal tubular epithelial cells, the intraluminal desquamated tubular cells, the infiltrated cells in the interstitium, and the capillary endothelial cells in the interstitium and glomeruli. The presence of viral antigens in renal tissues may support the hypothesis that direct renal injury by the virus is one of the pathophysiologic mechanisms of renal damage in KH