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models. Therefore, everything we learn from the current experimental system may
invite misinterpretation. To better develop effective therapeutics, KSHV virology
and its related pathogenesis need to be studied in a more physiological system.
7.6 Remarks and Perspectives
In the past two decades, considerable progress has been made in the KSHV field in
terms of the mechanisms of viral latency, the functions of viral genes, and the
mature experimental systems, such as cell lines for virus production, BAC systems
for genetic manipulation, and cell transformation models. However, our understand-
ing of KSHV is still hampered by several difficulties, such as limitations in human
cellular transformation models and a lack of animal models for the study of viral
infection and oncogenesis. Although the incidence of AIDS-KS has been reduced
by the effective control and treatment of AIDS, KSHV infection and its related dis-
eases remain a serious threat to AIDS patients in developing countries and people in
KS endemic regions, such as Central Africa and Xinjiang, China. Available treat-
ments are very limited and not curative for these diseases. Meanwhile, there is no
available vaccine for the prevention of KSHV infection, and the prevalence rate of
KSHV-related diseases remains high in endemic areas. With the wide application of
new technologies in the KSHV field, such as gene editing and targeted immune
therapy, we believe that the study of KSHV will shed light on the control of viral
infection and facilitate the design of targeted therapies for KSHV-related
malignancies.
Acknowledgments This work was supported by grants from the Natural Science Foundation for
Distinguished Young Scholar (81425017), the Ministry of Science and Technology of China
(2016YFA0502100), the Key Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China
(81230037), and the National Institutes of Health (1R01AI116442) to Ke Lan.
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