New viral footprints in Kaposi's sarcoma

Article Abstract:

A newly-discovered herpes virus appears to be involved in Kaposi's sarcoma and certain AIDS-related lymphomas. Kaposi's sarcoma is a skin tumor that occurs in HIV-positive and HIV-negative people. The herpes virus was recently discovered in skin samples from Kaposi's sarcoma patients and AIDS patients with body cavity lymphomas. A variation of the polymerase chain reaction allowed researchers to detect a small fragment of the virus in skin cells. The virus has been called human herpesvirus 8, or HHV-8, and appears to be related to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which causes infectious mononucleosis. EBV infects large numbers of people and remains in certain white blood cells called B lymphocytes, often without causing any symptoms. It is likely that HHV-8 follows a similar lifestyle. It is impossible to tell if HHV-8 causes Kaposi's sarcoma or is merely reactivated when the patient's immune system is impaired.

Editorial, Causes of, Identification and classification, Herpesviruses

---

Monoclonal origin of multicentric Kaposi's sarcoma lesions

Article Abstract:

Kaposi's sarcoma appears to be caused by a mutation in a single cell that multiplies and spreads, causing lesions throughout the body. This was demonstrated by a study of 32 tumor samples from 8 HIV-infected women with Kaposi's sarcoma. In 28 samples, the same X chromosome was inactivated through methylation. This indicates that the tumors arose from a single cell because normally, one copy of the X chromosome would be inactivated in half the cells, and the other copy would be inactivated in the other half. Thus, the sarcoma lesions do not arise spontaneously at each site.

Analysis, Genetic aspects, Dosage compensation (Genetics)

---

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Key role for a viral lytic gene in Kaposi's sarcoma. No respecter of age. More than meets the eye
• Abstracts: Dynamic modeling of imatinib-treated chronic myeloid leukemia: Functional insights and clinical implications. Targeted cancer therapeutics: The heartbreak of success
• Abstracts: Heparin prevents antiphospholipid antibody-induced fetal loss by inhibiting complement activation. Comparison of fixed-dose weight-adjusted unfractionated heparin and low-molecular-weight heparin for acute treatment of venous thromboembolism
• Abstracts: Prevention of infective endocarditis: guidelines from the American Heart Association. Assessing patients' caries risk
• Abstracts: Spiritual issues in the care of dying patients. In the here and now. State-specific prevalence of arthritis-attributable work limitation- Unites States, 2003

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.