© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017 91
Q. Cai et al. (eds.), Infectious Agents Associated Cancers: Epidemiology
and Molecular Biology, Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 1018,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-5765-6_7
Chapter 7
Kaposi’s Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus:
Epidemiology and Molecular Biology
Shasha Li, Lei Bai, Jiazhen Dong, Rui Sun, and Ke Lan
Abstract Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), also known as Human
herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), is a member of the lymphotropic gammaherpesvirus sub-
family and a human oncogenic virus. Since its discovery in AIDS-associated KS
tissues by Drs. Yuan Chang and Patrick Moore, much progress has been made in the
past two decades. There are four types of KS including classic KS, endemic KS,
immunosuppressive therapy-related KS, and AIDS-associated KS. In addition to
KS, KSHV is also involved in the development of primary effusion lymphoma
(PEL) and certain types of multicentric Castleman’s disease. KSHV manipulates
numerous viral proteins to promote the progression of angiogenesis and tumorigen-
esis. In this chapter, we review the epidemiology and molecular biology of KSHV
and the mechanisms underlying KSHV-induced diseases.
Keywords Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus • KSHV life cycle • KSHV
epidemiology • KSHV pathogenesis
7.1 Discovery, Definition, and Classification of Kaposi’s
Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV)
7.1.1 Discovery of KSHV
Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) was initially described by the Hungarian-born dermatolo-
gist Moritz Kaposi in 1872. He reported this new disease as “idiopathic purplish
pigmented sarcoma of the skin,” which is characterized by multiple purple patches
S. Li • K. Lan (*)
State Key Laboratory of Virology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University,
Wuhan 430072, People’s Republic of China
e-mail: [email protected]
L. Bai • J. Dong • R. Sun
Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institute Pasteur of Shanghai,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, People’s Republic of China