Hossein Keyvani - Dept of Virology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Fahimeh Safarnezhad Tameshkel - Gastrointestinal amp; Liver Disease Research Center (GILDRC), Firuzgar Hospital, Tehran, Iran
Mohammad Hadi Karbalaie Niya - Dept of Virology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Background: Varicella zoster virus (VZV) causes chickenpox in children and zoster (zona) in the elderly. Using RFLP-PCR method for detection of VZV specific SNPs ORF38, 54 and 62 could  distinguish the profile of VZV isolates. The aim of this study was to investigate enzymatic digestion pattern of VZV ORF38 and ORF54 in chickenpox patients using RFLP technique. Methods: Thirty-eight chickenpox patients, who referred to the hospitals of Iran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran from May 2010 to June 2015 were enrolled in this cross sectional study. After the DNA extraction, PCR amplification of 38 VZV isolates performed by specific primers of ORFs 38 and 54, then RFLP assay and digestion carried out by PstI (for ORF38) and BglI (for ORF54) restriction enzymes. Results: Of 38 positive VZV DNA, the mean age (yr)±SD was 34.4±23.3 (range: 7-89). 22 (57.9%) were female and 16 (42.1%) were male. The predominant VZV profile of BglI+PstI+ were 89.5% (34/38) followed by 10.5% (4/38) PstI+BglI‾. Statistical analysis showed that there was no significant relationship between genotype, age, sex, and year of infection variables (P value> 0.05). The common VZV genotype among Iranian patients with chickenpox and zona infection is genotype BglI+PstI+ followed by PstI+BglI‾. Conclusion: There are different VZV circulating genotypes that call for for more research on this field by widely population and other methods such as nucleotide sequencing to justify the accurate VZV genotype prevalence in Iran.

Varicella zoster virus, RFLP assay, Chickenpox, Restriction enzyme