title: Human herpesvirus type-8 (HHV-8) in haematopoietic neoplasia.
abstract: Human herpesvirus type-8 (HHV-8) is a lymphotropic herpesvirus originally identified in Kaposi's sarcoma. Among lymphoproliferative disorders, HHV-8 infection is restricted to body-cavity-based lymphoma (BCBL) and multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD). BCBL are B-cell lymphomas growing in liquid phase in the body cavities and most frequently associated with AIDS. BCBL express indeterminate phenotypes, in all cases are associated with HHV-8 infection, and frequently carry Epstein-Barr virus genomes in the absence of c-MYC rearrangements or other genetic lesions characteristic of B-cell lymphomas. The clinical outcome of BCBL is poor with a median survival of only few months. MCD is an atypical lymphoproliferative disorder which displays marked vascular hyperplasia and is commonly associated with Kaposi's sarcoma. HHV-8 infection occurs in 100% of AIDS-related MCD and in approximately 40% of AIDS-unrelated cases. Overall, the consistency of HHV-8 infection in BCBL and MCD, its selectivity throughout the spectrum of lymphoproliferative disorders and the high copy number of HHV-8 DNA sequences in infected cells suggest that the virus plays a pathogenetic role in these disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, University of Torino, Novara, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gaidano
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pastore
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gloghini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Volpe
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Capello
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Polito
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vaccher
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Tirelli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saglio
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carbone
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000821:virology; D005871:Castleman Disease / Q000209:etiology / Q000821:virology; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000821:virology*; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000821:virology*; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D016483:Lymphoma, AIDS-Related / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000209:etiology / Q000821:virology; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000821:virology