Immune evasion by Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus

L Coscoy - Nature Reviews Immunology, 2007 - nature.com
Nature Reviews Immunology, 2007nature.com
To efficiently establish a persistent infection, Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus
(KSHV; also known as HHV8) dedicates a large amount of its coding potential to produce
proteins that antagonize the immune system of its host. These viral immunomodulators
interfere with both the innate and adaptive immune responses and most of them are
homologous to cellular proteins, suggesting that they have been pirated from the host during
viral evolution. In this Review, I present recent advances in the understanding of immune …
Abstract
To efficiently establish a persistent infection, Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV; also known as HHV8) dedicates a large amount of its coding potential to produce proteins that antagonize the immune system of its host. These viral immunomodulators interfere with both the innate and adaptive immune responses and most of them are homologous to cellular proteins, suggesting that they have been pirated from the host during viral evolution. In this Review, I present recent advances in the understanding of immune evasion by KSHV, with a particular focus on the virally encoded modulators of immune responses that are unique to this virus.
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