Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)-associated herpesvirus or human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8)
DNA and transcripts have been detected in the B cells, macrophages, keratinocytes, and endothelial and epithelial cells of KS patients. In vitro, HHV-8 infects human B, endothelial, epithelial, and fibroblast cells, as well as animal cells, and the
infection is characterized by (i) absence of lytic replication by the input virus and (ii)
latent infection. For its initial binding to target cells, HHV-8 uses ubiquitous
heparan sulfate molecules via its envelope-associated
glycoproteins gB and gpK8.1A. HHV-8 also interacts with the
alpha3beta1 integrin via its
glycoprotein gB, and virus binding studies suggest that alpha3beta1 is one of the HHV-8 entry receptors (S. M. Akula, N. P. Pramod, F. Z. Wang, and B. Chandran, Cell 108:407-419, 2002). In this study, morphological and biochemical techniques were used to examine the entry of HHV-8 into human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF). HHV-8 was detected in coated vesicles and in large, smooth-surfaced endocytic vesicles. Fusion of viral envelope with the vesicle wall was also observed. In immune electron microscopy, anti-HHV-8 gB
antibodies colocalized with virus-containing endocytic vesicles. In fluorescence microscopic analyses,
transferrin was colocalized with HHV-8. HHV-8
infection was significantly inhibited by preincubation of cells with
chlorpromazine HCl, which blocks endocytosis via
clathrin-coated pits, but not by
nystatin and
cholera toxin B, which blocks endocytosis via caveolae and induces the dissociation of
lipid rafts, respectively.
Infection was also inhibited by blocking the acidification of endosomes by NH(4)Cl and
bafilomycin A. Inhibition of HHV-8 open reading frame 73 gene expression by
chlorpromazine HCl,
bafilomycin A, and NH(4)Cl demonstrated that the virions in the vesicles could proceed to cause an
infection. Taken together, these findings suggest that for its infectious entry into HFF, HHV-8 uses
clathrin-mediated endocytosis and a low-pH intracellular environment.