Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the major constituent of green tea, has been shown to induce cell death in cancer cells. Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is an aggressive neoplasm caused by human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8). In this study, we examined the role of EGCG on PEL cells in cell death and HHV8 replication. We performed trypan blue exclusion assay to assess the cell viability of PEL cells, ...

Multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD), a distinct subtype of Castleman's disease, is a rare, nonneoplastic, lymphoproliferative disorder. Patients with MCD present with systemic symptoms and multiple lymphadenopathy. Lymph node biopsy is necessary for the diagnosis of various histological MCD patterns including hyaline vascular, plasma cell, and mixed types. Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) infectio...

Laboratory and epidemiologic studies have established human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) as an etiologic agent of Kaposi's sarcoma. With strong evidence linking HHV8 infection with the number of sexual partners among homosexual men, the challenge now is to determine the specific sexual acts associated with HHV8 transmission. Initial studies of specific practices, however, have differed in their conclus...

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) is an important opportunistic infection of HIV/AIDS. However, very little is known about antibody seropositivities to HHV8 lytic and latent antigens among HIV-infected patients in China. Therefore, a cross-sectional study was conducted to explore HHV8 serostatus among 316 HIV-infected patients in a rural area of central China. The antibody seropositivity to HHV8 ORF65...

Multicentric Castleman disease (MCD) is a distinct type of lymphoproliferative disorder associated with inflammatory symptoms and interleukin 6 (IL-6) dysregulation. In the context of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, MCD is associated with Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, also called human herpesvirus type 8 (KSHV/HHV8). Within a prospective cohort study on 60 HIV-infected pa...

This study was carried out to see if there are any differences between the prevalence of Kaposi’s sarcoma in HIV infected patients with antibody to Human Herpes Virus 8 (HHV8) or not. Methods: The sera of 180 subjects were evaluated for HIV and HHV8 using double ELISA (Genscreen Ultra HIV Ag-Ab ELISA and JN HIV 1/2 ELISA Kit) for HIV screening and advanced Biotechnology Incorporated ELISA for H...

To establish a sensitive and specific antibody assay, potent antigenic proteins encoded by human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) were studied. Fifteen recombinant HHV8-encoded proteins were produced as glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins. The sera from AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) patients reacted with four proteins encoded by open reading frames (ORFs) K8.1, 59, 65, and 73 in a Western blo...

The seroprevalence of Human Herpes Virus 8 (HHV8) and its transmission pattern were assessed testing serum samples of 120 internationally adopted children (aged 1-15 years) coming from Eastern Europe. Determinations of IgG antibodies against both latent and lytic HHV-8 antigens were performed by indirect immunofluorescence assay. Antibodies were detected only for lytic antigen of the virus in 1...

Homologs of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) SM protein exist in several human and nonhuman herpesviruses. Structure and function differ significantly among these proteins. We have cloned and characterized the human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) gene, KS-SM, which is homologous to the EBV SM and herpes simplex virus ICP27 genes, from an HHV8-infected primary effusion lymphoma. KS-SM is shown to be a posttra...

A dominant epitope within the human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) ORF 65-encoded protein was mapped to an 8-amino-acid (aa) sequence (RKPPSGKK [aa 162 to 169]) by an amino acid replacement method. Using a 14-aa peptide (P4) encompassing this epitope as the antigen, we developed an enzyme immunoassay for HHV8 antibodies. The presence of P4 antibodies in a panel of 61 human serum specimens was highly corr...