title: Human herpesvirus 8 virology, epidemiology and related diseases.
abstract: Human herpesvirus 8 ([HHV-8], Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus [KSHV]) is a novel human oncovirus classified as a gamma-herpesvirus. HHV-8 is associated with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) and some cases of multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD). Antibodies against HHV-8 are detected in the sera of almost all KS patients, about 30% of HIV-infected homosexual males in the world and 1.4% of the Japanese population. In HHV-8-associated malignancies such as KS and PEL, HHV-8 latently infects these tumor cells. Unlike other viruses, HHV-8 encodes several human homologues including cytokines (IL-6, MIPs, IRFs) and regulatory proteins (cyclin D, G-protein coupled receptor [GPCR]). These proteins may play significant roles in the pathogenesis of HHV-8-associated diseases. It has been demonstrated in vitro that the functions of retinoblastoma and p53 proteins were inhibited by viral cyclin D and latency-associated nuclear antigen, respectively. Mice transgenic for GPCR have a KS-like region in the skin. These data suggest the full oncogenecity of HHV-8. On the other hand, many cells expressing lytic proteins are found in MCD tissues, suggesting that the pathogenesis of MCD is different from that of HHV-8-associated malignancies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan. katano@nih.go.jp
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Katano
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sata
mesh_terms: D005871:Castleman Disease / Q000821:virology*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D016483:Lymphoma, AIDS-Related / Q000821:virology*; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000821:virology*; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*