Selected genes of Human herpesvirus-8 associated Kaposi's sarcoma among patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 and Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease Syndrome

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a kind of cancer that causes flat or raised lesions containing Human herpes virus 8 (HHV8). The KS lesions are common among immunosuppressed HIV patients. Highly Active Antiretroviral (HHART) treats and prevent the development of KS. The objective of this study was to determine the presence of K1 and K15 (predominant alleles) genesin Kaposi's sarcoma- associated herpes virus (KSHV) among immunosuppressed patients due to HIV -1. METHODS: this was a cross-sectional descriptive study where consecutive sampling technique was adopted to pick archived tissue blocks from the pathology department at the Kenyatta National Hospital. Hematoxylin and Eosin (H and E) staining was used to identify KS or KS -like lesions. K1 and K15 (P) genes were detected by nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique. RESULTS: upon staining 81 tissue blocks with H and E, 84% (68/81) were diagnosed as KS lesions and 16% (13/81) as KS- like lesions. The K1 and K15 (P) genes were both detected at 88.9% (72/81) in the tissue blocks, with 95.8% (69/72) detection from KS lesions and 4.2% (3/72) from the KS-like lesions. CONCLUSION: the K1 and K15 (P) genes of KSHV were present among the immunosuppressed patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) -1. It is important to carry out K1 and K15 (P) genes detection on tissues that are diagnosed as KS or KS like by histology technique.

Keywords

• kshv
• histology
• nested pcr