Altered patterns of cellular gene expression in dermal microvascular endothelial cells infected with Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus.

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)-associated herpesvirus (KSHV; also called human herpesvirus 8) is believed to be the etiologic agent of Kaposi's sarcoma, multicentric Castleman's disease, and AIDS-associated primary effusion lymphoma. KSHV infection of human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (DMVEC) in culture results in the conversion of cobblestone-shaped cells to spindle-shaped cells, a characteristic morphological feature of cells in KS lesions. All spindle-shaped cells in KSHV-infected DMVEC cultures express the latency-associated nuclear protein LANA1, and a subfraction of these cells undergo spontaneous lytic cycle induction that can be enhanced by tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate (TPA) treatment.