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Updated: Jul 19, 2026
Identifying Dysregulated Genes Induced by Kaposi's Sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus (KSHV)
Published on: September 14, 2010
Morphologic and immunophenotypic evidence of in-situ Kaposi's sarcoma
Panagiotis A Konstantinopoulos1, Bruce J Dezube, Liron Pantanowitz
1Department of Hematology/Oncology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. pkonstan@bidmc.harvard.edu
Background:
The spectrum of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) has been expanded to include pre-KS lesions.
Case Presentation:
We report, for the first time, a case providing direct histological evidence of the development of early (in-situ) KS from mediastinal lymphatic vessels in the setting of chronic lymphedema in an HIV-positive patient. Spindle-shaped and endothelial cells in these early KS-appearing lesions were immunoreactive for HHV8, D2-40 and CD34.
Conclusion:
Our findings suggest that HHV8-infected spindle-shaped cells associated with lymphangiogenesis that evolve into KS lesions, acquire from the outset an aberrant mixed vascular and lymphatic endothelial cell phenotype.
