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Updated: May 23, 2026

Identifying Dysregulated Genes Induced by Kaposi's Sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus (KSHV)
Published on: September 14, 2010
Activating KIR/HLA complexes in classic Kaposi's Sarcoma
Franca R Guerini1, Roberta Mancuso, Simone Agostini
1Don C, Gnocchi Foundation ONLUS, P, le Morandi 6, 20121 Milan, Italy. mario.clerici@unimi.it.
Background:
Classic Kaposi's Sarcoma (cKS) is a rare vascular tumor associated with Human Herpesvirus 8 (KSHV) infection, nevertheless not all KSHV-infected individuals have cKS.
Objective:
We investigated whether particular KIR/HLA receptor/ligand genotypes would be preferentially present in KSHV-infected and uninfected individuals who have or have not developed cKS.
Methods:
KIR/HLA genotypes were analyzed by molecular genotyping in 50 KSHV-infected individuals who did or did not have cKS and in 33 age-and sex-matched KSHV seronegative individuals.
Results:
There was no association of individual KIR, HLA or receptor ligand combinations with KSHV infection. However, activating KIR and KIR/HLA genotypes were significantly more frequent in cKS cases, specifically KIR3DS1, KIR2DS1, and KIR2DS1 with its HLA-C2 ligand.
Conclusion:
A nonspecific inflammatory response triggered by activation of NK cells upon KIR-HLA interaction could be associated with the pathogenesis of KS.
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