title: Molecular characterization of strains of Human herpesvirus 8 from Japan, Argentina and Kuwait.
abstract: Current genotyping systems for Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) are based on the highly variable gene encoding the K1 glycoprotein. Most strains collected worldwide cluster into two subtypes (I/A and II/C). Sequenced African strains have belonged to subtypes I/A and IV/B. Members of all three of these subtypes can have either the M or P allele at the right-hand side (RHS) of the genome. Strains obtained predominantly from aboriginal or relatively isolated populations have formed clades that branch at a distance from subtypes I/A and II/C, all being of the RHS P allele. The characterization is reported here of 16 Japanese, two Kuwaiti and five Argentine HHV-8 strains obtained from human immunodeficiency virus-infected and non-infected patients with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), primary effusion lymphoma, multicentric Castleman's disease or renal transplants. K1 sequences of five Japanese, one Kuwaiti and two Argentine strains were identified as subtype I/A and eight Japanese, one Kuwaiti and three Argentine strains were subtype II/C. Three strains from elderly classic KS patients originally from Hokkaido, a northern Japanese island, were relatively closely related to strains of subtypes III/D and E. Consistent with previous observations, both the M and P alleles were identified at the RHS of subgroup I/A and II/C genomes; only the P allele was detected among the three Hokkaido strains. Distances among the Hokkaido strains were similar to the distance between subtypes I/A and II/C, suggesting that the Hokkaido strains may represent two distinct subtypes and that, as more strains are analysed, the currently recognized III/D subgroups will probably emerge as independent subtypes.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mail Stop G18, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA1.
authors.forename: Yuan-Xiang
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan2.
authors.forename: Tetsutaro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sata
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mail Stop G18, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA1.
authors.forename: Felicia R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Stamey
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait3.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Voevodin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan2.
authors.forename: Harutaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Katano
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan4.
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koizumi
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mail Stop G18, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA1.
authors.forename: Marlene
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deleon
authors.affiliation: Hospital Italiano, Buenos Aires, Argentina5.
authors.forename: Miguel Angel
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: De Cristofano
authors.affiliation: Hospital Italiano, Buenos Aires, Argentina5.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Galimberti
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mail Stop G18, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA1.
authors.forename: Philip E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Pellett
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000821:virology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001118:Argentina; D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D007730:Kuwait; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000821:virology*; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D006023:Glycoproteins; C111600:K1 protein, Human herpesvirus 8; D014764:Viral Proteins