title: Human herpesvirus 8 in the prostate glands of men with Kaposi's sarcoma.
abstract: The epidemiology of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) resembles that of a sexually transmitted pathogen. However, human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), the proposed cause of KS, is found in semen only infrequently and at low titers. To determine whether HHV-8 was present in the urogenital tract, transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsies were obtained from six men with KS (five with concurrent HIV infection) and four without KS (three with concurrent HIV) and assayed for HHV-8 by PCR. Nine of the 10 men were seropositive for HHV-8. Five of nine HHV-8-seropositive men had HHV-8 DNA detected in prostate tissue by solution-based PCR. All five currently had KS or had it previously. In two subjects, prostate tissue was the only identified source of HHV-8. In situ PCR on serial sections of prostate indicated that HHV-8 infection was localized to discrete areas of the prostate. When detected, HHV-8 DNA was present in the nuclei of >90% of the glandular epithelial cells. In situ hybridization for HHV-8 mRNA revealed that between 1 and 5% of cells harboring HHV-8 DNA expressed viral transcripts associated with HHV-8 replication (T1.1 transcript), while >90% expressed gene products associated with viral latency (T0.7 transcript). Intermittent replication of HHV-8 in the prostate and subsequent shedding of virus in semen may be crucial factors for determining whether HHV-8 can be transmitted through sexual activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, and Program in Infectious Diseases, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98104, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Diamond
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Brodie
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Krieger
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Koelle
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Diem
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Muthui
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Corey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011467:Prostate / Q000821:virology*; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral