title: Antibodies against Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV) complement control protein (KCP) in infected individuals.
abstract: Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the most important etiopathological factor of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and some specific types of malignant lymphomas. One of the viral lytic genes encodes the KSHV complement control protein (KCP), which functionally mimics human complement inhibitors. Although this protein provides an advantage for evading the complement attack, it can serve as target for adaptive immune response. Herein, we identified anti-KCP IgG antibodies in patients with KS and KSHV-related lymphomas. KCP-specific antibodies were only detected in sera of those patients who had high titres of antibodies against lytic or latent KSHV antigens. Complement control protein domain 2 (CCP2) was found to be the most immunogenic part of the KCP protein. Furthermore, pre-incubation of KCP-expressing CHO cells with patient sera containing anti-KCP antibodies resulted in an increased complement deposition when incubated with human serum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, University Hospital Malmö, S-205 02 Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okroj
authors.forename: O Brad
authors.initials: OB
authors.lastname: Spiller
authors.forename: Zoltan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Korodi
authors.forename: Rosamaria
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tedeschi
authors.forename: Joakim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dillner
authors.forename: Anna M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Blom
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000097:blood; D016466:CHO Cells; D006224:Cricetinae; D003412:Cricetulus; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000821:virology; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; C473771:KSHV complement control protein, Herpesvirus 8; D014764:Viral Proteins