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HHV‐8 subtypes in South Africa: Identification of a case suggesting a novel B variant
Author(s) -
Treurnicht Florette K.,
Engelbrecht Susan,
Taylor Maureen B.,
Schneider Johan W.,
van Rensburg Estrelita Janse
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.2135
Subject(s) - sarcoma , open reading frame , virology , biology , gene , kaposi's sarcoma , kaposi's sarcoma associated herpesvirus , human herpesvirus , lymphoma , sequence analysis , virus , medicine , genetics , viral disease , pathology , herpesviridae , immunology , peptide sequence
Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV‐8) has been identified as the causative agent for all forms of Kaposi's sarcoma and is also associated with the development of body cavity‐based B‐cell lymphomas and multicentric Castleman's disease. HHV‐8 genomes are now classified into five major subtypes (A–E) that reflect sequence heterogeneity in the highly variable open reading frame (ORF) K1. To identify HHV‐8 subtypes associated with different forms of Kaposi's sarcoma, we compared the ORF 26 and ORF‐K1 gene sequences from South African patients with the prototype strains of the major subtypes, as well as published sequences from other African strains. DNA prepared from Kaposi's sarcoma biopsies and/or peripheral blood lymphocytes were available from 14 patients with postrenal transplant (iatrogenic) Kaposi's sarcoma, six patients with the African endemic form, and one patient with AIDS‐related body cavity‐based B‐cell lymphoma. We identified a B2 subtype in six patients, four of whom also had a novel B5 type ORF 26 polymorphism. Two patients had B2 type patterns for both the ORF 26 and ORF‐K1 genes. The ORF‐K1 subtype A5 was identified in samples from three patients with a B3/C2 type polymorphism in the ORF 26 gene. A novel ORF‐K1 B variant strain was identified in a patient with African endemic Kaposi's sarcoma, who also had a B3/C2 class ORF 26 pattern. In 58.3% of iatrogenic Kaposi's sarcoma patients, a B5‐type ORF 26 gene sequence pattern was identified. No association was found among particular subtypes, geographical origin of patients, or clinical presentation. J. Med. Virol. 66:235–240, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.