DETECTION OF HUMAN-HERPESVIRUS-8 DNA IN KAPOSIS-SARCOMA FROM IATROGENICALLY IMMUNOSUPPRESSED PATIENTS

Background: Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) accounts for more than 5% of maligna ncies in immunosuppressed organ transplant patients (OKS). A new herpe svirus (HHV-8) was identified with high prevalence in biopsy specimens of AIDS-KS, endemic KS, and classic KS and in OKS. KS has also been a ssociated with other underlying diseases in patients treated with cort icosteroids, but this subset of KS has been reported to contain HHV-8 in only a few case reports. Objective: In this larger study, we determ ined the prevalence of HHV-8 in seven patients of Jewish origin in who m KS developed during immunosuppressive therapy for different primary diseases (ISKS). Methods: The study included HHV-8 DNA detection by po lymerase chain reaction (PCR) coupled with Southern blot and sequence analysis as well as by in situ hybridization. Results: HHV-8 sequences were detected by PCR with confirmation by Southern blot and sequence analysis in 100% of the ISKS samples. Direct sequencing revealed sever al previously unknown base changes within the 208 bp region from open reading frame 26 (ORF26(208)) Of HHV-8 in ISKS. Conclusion: Ours is th e largest known study describing the presence of HHV-8 in iatrogenic K S from immunosuppressed nontransplant patients and provides data of pr eviously ly unknown sequence variations within the ORF26 of HHV-8 DNA.