title: HHV-8 subtypes in South Africa: identification of a case suggesting a novel B variant.
abstract: Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) has been identified as the causative agent for all forms of Kaposi's sarcoma and is also associated with the development of body cavity-based B-cell lymphomas and multicentric Castleman's disease. HHV-8 genomes are now classified into five major subtypes (A-E) that reflect sequence heterogeneity in the highly variable open reading frame (ORF) K1. To identify HHV-8 subtypes associated with different forms of Kaposi's sarcoma, we compared the ORF 26 and ORF-K1 gene sequences from South African patients with the prototype strains of the major subtypes, as well as published sequences from other African strains. DNA prepared from Kaposi's sarcoma biopsies and/or peripheral blood lymphocytes were available from 14 patients with postrenal transplant (iatrogenic) Kaposi's sarcoma, six patients with the African endemic form, and one patient with AIDS-related body cavity-based B-cell lymphoma. We identified a B2 subtype in six patients, four of whom also had a novel B5 type ORF 26 polymorphism. Two patients had B2 type patterns for both the ORF 26 and ORF-K1 genes. The ORF-K1 subtype A5 was identified in samples from three patients with a B3/C2 type polymorphism in the ORF 26 gene. A novel ORF-K1 B variant strain was identified in a patient with African endemic Kaposi's sarcoma, who also had a B3/C2 class ORF 26 pattern. In 58.3% of iatrogenic Kaposi's sarcoma patients, a B5-type ORF 26 gene sequence pattern was identified. No association was found among particular subtypes, geographical origin of patients, or clinical presentation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Virology, University of Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Florette K
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Treurnicht
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Engelbrecht
authors.forename: Maureen B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Johan W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Estrelita Janse
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: van Rensburg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; C111600:K1 protein, Human herpesvirus 8; D014764:Viral Proteins