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Updated: Jul 24, 2026

Identifying Dysregulated Genes Induced by Kaposi's Sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus (KSHV)
07:02

Identifying Dysregulated Genes Induced by Kaposi's Sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus (KSHV)

Published on: September 14, 2010

Identification of a major growth factor for AIDS-Kaposi's sarcoma cells as oncostatin M

B C Nair1, A L DeVico, S Nakamura

  • 1Department of Cell Biology, Advanced BioScience Laboratories, Inc., Kensington, MD.

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|March 13, 1992
PubMed

Insights

Researchers found that Oncostatin M, a protein from HTLV-II infected cells, significantly boosts the growth of AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma cells. This discovery offers new insights into Kaposi's sarcoma cell proliferation and potential therapeutic targets.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Virology
  • Immunology

Background:

  • Human T cell leukemia virus type 2 (HTLV-II) infection is associated with certain cancers.
  • Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-associated Kaposi's sarcoma (AIDS-KS) is a significant opportunistic infection.
  • Understanding factors that promote AIDS-KS cell growth is crucial for developing treatments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify factors in conditioned medium from HTLV-II infected cells that support AIDS-KS cell growth.
  • To characterize the protein responsible for promoting AIDS-KS cell proliferation.
  • To evaluate the effect of this protein on AIDS-KS cell growth.

Main Methods:

  • Culturing AIDS-KS cells in conditioned medium from HTLV-II infected T cells.
  • Purification of a growth-promoting protein from the conditioned medium.
  • Amino-terminal sequencing of the purified protein.
  • Assessing the effect of the purified protein on AIDS-KS cell growth in vitro.

Main Results:

  • Conditioned medium from HTLV-II infected T cells supported long-term culture of AIDS-KS cells.
  • A 30 kilodalton protein was purified from this medium.
  • The purified protein's amino-terminal sequence matched Oncostatin M.
  • Oncostatin M significantly increased AIDS-KS cell growth at very low concentrations (< 1 ng/mL).

Conclusions:

  • Oncostatin M is present in conditioned medium of HTLV-II infected cells.
  • Oncostatin M promotes the growth of AIDS-KS cells.
  • This finding may reveal a mechanism for Kaposi's sarcoma development in AIDS patients.

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