title: Molecular analysis of human herpesvirus 8 by using single nucleotide polymorphisms in open reading frame 26.
abstract: Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) can be classified into distinct subtypes on the basis of sequence polymorphisms in several open reading frames (ORFs). We analyzed the subtypes of HHV-8 in 59 human immunodeficiency virus-infected Japanese patients by using polymorphisms in ORF26 and found that over two-thirds of the HHV-8 isolates fell into major subtype A. We also found that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at nucleotide positions 1032 (C-to-A substitution) and 1055 (G-to-T substitution) in HHV-8 ORF26 were correlated with increased susceptibility to Kaposi's sarcoma, compared to the results obtained with HHV-8 with wild-type nucleotides at these positions (P = 0.0106). This observation suggests that molecular heterogeneity of the HHV-8 genome affects the biological properties of HHV-8, resulting in different clinical phenotypes of HHV-8 infection. Since sensitive PCR of ORF26 allowed us to analyze the SNPs by using peripheral blood from HHV-8-infected patients, the ORF26 SNPs will be a potent tool for investigating the pathogenesis of HHV-8 infection.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Advanced Clinical Research Center, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Tokiomi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: Tomohiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koibuchi
authors.forename: Hitomi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Odawara
authors.forename: Mieko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ajisawa
authors.forename: Aikichi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iwamoto
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000821:virology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral