{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,3]],"date-time":"2026-04-03T04:49:58Z","timestamp":1775191798610,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,20]],"date-time":"2025-09-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1758326400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) establishes lifelong latency in immune cells and may contribute to the progression of ethanol-induced liver injury. To elucidate the contribution of HHV-6 to alcohol-induced hepatic injury, this study evaluated HHV-6 protein expression, NF-\u03baB signalling, and CD163-positive macrophage recruitment in liver samples from control subjects, young individuals with recent alcohol exposure, and individuals with long-term chronic alcohol use. Liver lobules displaying HHV-6 positivity were more frequent in alcohol users (64% in young and 72% in chronic users) compared to controls (48%). CD163-positive macrophage counts were higher in both young and chronic alcohol users compared to controls, with the greatest increase in HHV-6-positive chronic users. NF-\u03baB expression intensity was elevated in alcohol users (p &lt; 0.005), and further increased in HHV-6-positive samples (p = 0.02). These findings indicate an association between HHV-6 persistence, NF-\u03baB pathway activation, and CD163-positive macrophage-driven inflammatory responses in liver tissue under conditions of chronic alcohol use. Further research is warranted to uncover the mechanisms underlying the interaction between HHV-6 and ethanol in liver injury.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms13092204","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,22]],"date-time":"2025-09-22T08:37:39Z","timestamp":1758530259000},"page":"2204","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Human Herpesvirus 6 Activates NF-\u03baB Signalling and CD163-Positive Macrophage Recruitment in Alcohol-Induced Hepatic Injury"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-0718-1189","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anda","family":"Upane","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Joint Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Institute of Anatomy and Anthropology, R\u012bga Stradi\u0146\u0161 University, LV-1010 Riga, Latvia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6889-6390","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Simons","family":"Svirskis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Microbiology and Virology, R\u012bga Stradi\u0146\u0161 University, LV-1067 Riga, Latvia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2616-2668","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Valerija","family":"Groma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Joint Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Institute of Anatomy and Anthropology, R\u012bga Stradi\u0146\u0161 University, LV-1010 Riga, Latvia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3589-9429","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sandra","family":"Skuja","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Joint Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Institute of Anatomy and Anthropology, R\u012bga Stradi\u0146\u0161 University, LV-1010 Riga, Latvia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"313","DOI":"10.1128\/CMR.00122-14","article-title":"Laboratory and Clinical Aspects of Human Herpesvirus 6 Infections","volume":"28","author":"Agut","year":"2015","journal-title":"Clin. 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