title: Human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8) in Kaposi's sarcoma: lack of association with Bcl-2 and p53 protein expression.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8) is the infectious agent implicated in the pathogenesis of Kaposi's sarcoma, although its mode of action is unclear. Recent work indicates that the HHV-8 genome encodes a viral Bcl-2 homologue (v-Bcl-2). The aim of this study was to explore Bcl-2 expression in Kaposi's sarcoma using a unique set of HHV-8 positive and negative cases, and to determine whether there is a relation with p53 expression.
  
  
  METHODS
  Up to 18 specimens from 17 patients were selected. HHV-8 status was determined using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to the open reading frame (ORF) 26, with further confirmation by TaqMan PCR. In addition, Bcl-2 and p53 immunohistochemistry were performed using standard protocols.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results suggest that Bcl-2 and p53 expression is independent of HHV-8 status. In addition, there does not appear to be a direct correlation with disease stage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HHV8 histopathogenesis is likely to be a multifactorial complex process, which may be mediated in part by viral genes and apoptosis regulating homologues.
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Pathology and Bacteriology, University of Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: O'Leary
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Oates
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Lucas
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Howells
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Picton
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: McGee
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53