Cell-free DNA (cf-
DNA) in blood represents a promising DNA damage response triggered by
virus infection or
trauma,
tumor, etc. Hantavirus primarily causes two diseases: haemorrhagic
fever with renal syndrome (
HFRS) and Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), depending on different Hantavirus species. The aim of this study was to evaluate plasma cf-
DNA levels in acute phase of
HFRS, and to correlate plasma cf-
DNA with disease severity and plasma Hanttan virus (HTNV) load. We observed the appearance of cf-
DNA in 166 plasma samples from 76
HFRS patients: the plasma cf-
DNA levels peaked at the hypotensive stage of
HFRS, and then decreased gradually. Until the
diuretic stage, there was no significant difference in plasma cf-
DNA level between patients and the healthy control. Exclusively in the febrile/hypotensive stage, the plasma cf-
DNA levels of severe/critical patients were higher than those of the mild/moderate group. Moreover, the plasma cf-
DNA value in the early stage of
HFRS was correlated with HTNV load and disease severity. In most of the patients, plasma cf-
DNA displayed a low-molecular weight appearance, corresponding to the size of apoptotic
DNA. In conclusion, the plasma cf-
DNA levels were dynamically elevated during
HFRS, and correlated with disease severity, which suggests that plasma cf-
DNA may be a potential
biomarker for the pathogenesis and prognosis of
HFRS.