title: Characterization of a chemokine receptor-related gene in human herpesvirus 8 and its expression in Kaposi's sarcoma.
abstract: Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) is a recently discovered, virus that is highly associated with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and AIDS-associated body cavity lymphomas, although it is also found in some normal individuals. HHV-8 is related by nucleotide sequence homology to herpesvirus saimiri (HVS), which causes T cell lymphomas in some New World monkeys, and to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a human herpesvirus linked etiologically with Burkitt's lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. We report that, like HVS but unlike EBV, HHV-8 contains a gene (ORF74) with significant sequence homology to the high-affinity IL-8 receptor, a member of the alpha (CXC) chemokine receptor family of transmembrane G protein-coupled receptors. We also show by reverse transcription PCR that the chemokine receptor-related HHV-8 gene is detectable in some RNA samples from KS tissue, and that its expression varies independently from that of ORF26, a minor capsid protein. The presence of a potential chemokine receptor in HHV-8 and its expression in KS tissue suggests that it may be important in the regulation of viral gene expression and may play a role in the etiology of KS and AIDS-related body cavity lymphomas.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Virology, Medical Biotechnology Center, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore 21201, USA.
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Browning
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nicholas
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Hayward
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tschachler
authors.forename: Y W
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sadowska
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raffeld
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Colombini
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Reitz
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000737:chemistry*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002213:Capsid / Q000235:genetics; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005814:Genes, Viral; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D016209:Interleukin-8; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D019707:Receptors, Chemokine; D018121:Receptors, Cytokine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D018123:Receptors, Interleukin / Q000737:chemistry*; D023062:Receptors, Interleukin-8A; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D004279:DNA, Viral; D016209:Interleukin-8; C105181:ORF74 protein, Human herpesvirus 8; D019707:Receptors, Chemokine; D018121:Receptors, Cytokine; D018123:Receptors, Interleukin; D023062:Receptors, Interleukin-8A; D014764:Viral Proteins