Short DNA sequences have been identified, originally in association with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) biopsies, that are highly homologous to oncogenic, lymphotropic herpesviruses. Recently a virus, Kaposi sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV) or human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8), bearing these sequences has been identified in a cell line derived from a body cavity-based lymphoma. In this report, we show that the same sequences are present in KS biopsies as DNA molecules of a form and size characteristic of latent herpesviruses-large, covalently closed, circular episomes. The genomes migrate with an apparent size larger than the herpesvirus Epstein-Barr virus (172 kb). This form of the viral genome was found in four of four biopsies and three of five peripheral blood samples from KS patients. Linear forms of the viral genome, characteristic of viral replication, were not detected in the biopsies, but were present in the peripheral blood of three out of five patients. The sequences for KSHV/HHV-8 were also detected in the blood of four of five allograft patients and three of five healthy donors without KS suggesting that the virus is widespread throughout the human population.
Article|
July 01 1996
The Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is present as an intact latent genome in KS tissue but replicates in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of KS patients.
L L Decker,
L L Decker
Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
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P Shankar,
P Shankar
Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
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G Khan,
G Khan
Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
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R B Freeman,
R B Freeman
Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
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B J Dezube,
B J Dezube
Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
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J Lieberman,
J Lieberman
Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
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D A Thorley-Lawson
D A Thorley-Lawson
Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
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L L Decker
Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
P Shankar
Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
G Khan
Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
R B Freeman
Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
B J Dezube
Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
J Lieberman
Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
D A Thorley-Lawson
Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
Online ISSN: 1540-9538
Print ISSN: 0022-1007
J Exp Med (1996) 184 (1): 283–288.
Citation
L L Decker, P Shankar, G Khan, R B Freeman, B J Dezube, J Lieberman, D A Thorley-Lawson; The Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is present as an intact latent genome in KS tissue but replicates in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of KS patients.. J Exp Med 1 July 1996; 184 (1): 283–288. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.184.1.283
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