Staskus K A, Zhong W, Gebhard K, Herndier B, Wang H, Renne R, Beneke J, Pudney J, Anderson D J, Ganem D, Haase A T
Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455, USA.
J Virol. 1997 Jan;71(1):715-9. doi: 10.1128/JVI.71.1.715-719.1997.
The recent discovery of DNA sequences of a new human herpesvirus in Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) has fueled speculation that this virus might cause KS. The mere presence, however, of a virus in a complex multicellular tumor like KS could just as well be construed as evidence of a passenger agent. We sought stronger evidence linking the KS-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) to tumor formation by using in situ hybridization to investigate the specificity, constancy, and timing of KSHV gene expression in KS tumor cells. Here we document expression of a 700-nucleotide viral RNA in every KS tumor examined, from the earliest histologically recognizable stage to advanced tumors in which the vast majority of identifiable spindle tumor cells contain this transcript. Two other KSHV RNAs were also detected in a smaller fraction of the tumor cells in all but the earliest lesion. These viral RNAs were expressed to relatively low levels in this subset; because one of these RNAs encodes a major viral capsid protein, these cells may be producing KSHV. We did not find these KSHV genes expressed in a variety of other tumors and proliferative processes, but we did detect viral gene expression in prostatic tissue, supporting a possible mechanism for sexual transmission of KSHV. The close relationship between KS and KSHV gene expression is consistent with the hypothesis that KSHV is directly involved in the etiology and pathogenesis of KS.
最近在卡波西肉瘤（KS）中发现了一种新型人类疱疹病毒的DNA序列，这引发了关于该病毒可能导致KS的猜测。然而，在像KS这样复杂的多细胞肿瘤中仅仅存在一种病毒，同样也可以被解释为是一种过客因子的证据。我们通过使用原位杂交来研究KS肿瘤细胞中KS相关疱疹病毒（KSHV）基因表达的特异性、稳定性和时间性，以寻找将KSHV与肿瘤形成联系起来的更有力证据。在此我们记录了在所检查的每一例KS肿瘤中都有一个700个核苷酸的病毒RNA的表达，从最早在组织学上可识别的阶段到晚期肿瘤，其中绝大多数可识别的梭形肿瘤细胞都含有这种转录本。在除最早病变外的所有肿瘤中，在一小部分肿瘤细胞中还检测到了另外两种KSHV RNA。这些病毒RNA在这个亚群中的表达水平相对较低；因为其中一种RNA编码一种主要的病毒衣壳蛋白，所以这些细胞可能正在产生KSHV。我们没有在多种其他肿瘤和增殖过程中发现这些KSHV基因的表达，但我们确实在前列腺组织中检测到了病毒基因表达，这支持了KSHV可能通过性传播的一种机制。KS与KSHV基因表达之间的密切关系与KSHV直接参与KS的病因学和发病机制这一假说相一致。
