KSHV and the pathogenesis of Kaposi sarcoma: listening to human biology and medicine.
The linkage of Kaposi sarcoma (KS) to infection by a novel human herpesvirus (Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus [KSHV]) is one of the great successes of contemporary biomedical research and was achieved by using advanced genomic technologies in a manner informed by a nuanced understanding of epidemiology and clinical investigation. Ongoing efforts to understand the molecular mechanisms by which KSHV infection predisposes to KS continue to be powerfully influenced by insights emanating from the clinic. Here, recent developments in KS pathogenesis are reviewed, with particular emphasis on clinical, pathologic, and molecular observations that highlight the many differences between this process and tumorigenesis by other oncogenic viruses.
Ganem
Don
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Department of Medicine and Microbiology, University of California, 513 Parnassus Ave., San Francisco, CA 91413, USA. ganem@cgl.ucsf.edu
D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000209:etiology* / Q000821:virology; D056189:Viral Tropism; D017735:Virus Latency; D014779:Virus Replication