title: Genetic diversity of the Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus K1 protein in AIDS-KS in Zimbabwe.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) encodes genetically diverse K1 alleles which have unique geographic distributions. Little is known about K1 genetic diversity in Zimbabwe where acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-associated KS (AIDS-KS) is epidemic.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Evaluate K1 diversity in Zimbabwe and compare Zimbabwean K1 diversity to other areas in Africa.
  
  
  METHODS
  K1 nucleotide sequence was determined for AIDS-KS cases in Zimbabwe. K1 references sequences were obtained from Genbank.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 65 Zimbabwean AIDS-KS cases, 26 (40%) were K1 subtype A and 39 (60%) were subtype B. Zimbabwean subtype A sequences grouped only with African intratype A5 variants. Zimbabwean subtype B sequences grouped with multiple intratype African variants: 26 B1 (26%), four B3 (6%) and nine highly divergent B4 (14%). Zimbabwean subtype B had a lower synonymous to nonsynonymous mutation ratio (median 0.59 versus 0.66; P=0.008) and greater distance to the most recent common ancestor (median 0.03 versus 0.009; P<0.001) compared to subtype A. Within the B subgroup, the distribution of intratype B variants differed in Zimbabwe and Uganda (P=0.004).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Greater positive selection and genetic diversity in K1 subtype B compared to subtype A5 exist in Zimbabwe. However, there were no significant associations between K1 subtype and the clinical or demographic characteristics of AIDS-KS cases.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO 80262, USA.
authors.forename: Tiffany
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Moira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hagen
authors.forename: Ivy
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gudza
authors.forename: Irene E
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Buxton
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ndemera
authors.forename: Lovemore
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gwanzura
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Borok
authors.forename: Thomas B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Campbell
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014454:Uganda / Q000453:epidemiology; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D015030:Zimbabwe / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: C111600:K1 protein, Human herpesvirus 8; D014764:Viral Proteins