HHV-8 K8.1A/B

HHV-8, also known as Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), is prevalent in immuno-suppressed individuals, such as people who have had an organ transplant and are taking immuno-suppressing drugs, and those with HIV. This virus causes Kaposi's sarcoma, a cancer commonly occurring in AIDS patients, as well as primary effusion lymphoma and some types of multicentric Castleman's disease. It is one of seven currently known human cancer viruses, or oncoviruses. Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) or Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus K8.1 gene encodes for two immunogenic glycoproteins, gpK8.1A and gpK8.1B, originating from spliced messages. The 228-amino-acid (aa) gpK8.1A is the predominant form associated with the virion envelope, consisting of a 167-aa region identical to gpK8.1B and a 61-aa unique region.