title: Molecular characterization of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus/human herpesvirus-8 strains from Russia.
abstract: We report the molecular characterization, with subtyping of both K1 and K14.1/K15 genomic regions, of seven new human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) strains from Russian patients with classical Kaposi's sarcoma. Phylogenetic studies, based on the complete K1 gene/protein analysis, indicate that six of these strains belong to the A subtype, with one belonging to the A4 group and exhibiting a unique deletion of 19 amino acids in the VR2 region at position 186-204. PCR-based studies of the K14.1/K15 genomic region indicate that four of the new strains were of the M subtype while three belonged to the P subtype. Our study indicates an important genetic diversity of the HHV-8 strains currently present in Russia, including a new peculiar strain possessing a unique deletion in the VR2 segment, and confirms the absence of correlation between the K1 and K14.1/K15 molecular subtypes, as M and P genotypes can be observed in the A K1 subtype.
authors.affiliation: Unité d'Oncologie Virale, Département du SIDA et des Rétrovirus, Institut Pasteur, 28, rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lacoste
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kadyrova
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chistiakova
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gurtsevitch
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Judde
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gessain
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005814:Genes, Viral; D014644:Genetic Variation; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012426:Russia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D017384:Sequence Deletion