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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Identifying Dysregulated Genes Induced by Kaposi's Sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus (KSHV)
Published on: September 15, 2010
A viral gene that activates lytic cycle expression of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus
1Departments of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Genetics, Pediatrics, and Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
Abstract:
Herpesviruses exist in two states, latency and a lytic productive cycle. Here we identify an immediate-early gene encoded by Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)/human herpesvirus eight (HHV8) that activates lytic cycle gene expression from the latent viral genome. The gene is a homologue of Rta, a transcriptional activator encoded by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). KSHV/Rta activated KSHV early lytic genes, including virus-encoded interleukin 6 and polyadenylated nuclear RNA, and a late gene, small viral capsid antigen. In cells dually infected with Epstein-Barr virus and KSHV, each Rta activated only autologous lytic cycle genes. Expression of viral cytokines under control of the KSHV/Rta gene is likely to contribute to the pathogenesis of KSHV-associated diseases.
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