Isolation and propagation of a human herpesvirus derived from AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma cells
AssigneeUniversity of Michigan
InventorsGary J. Nabel, Brian J. Nickoloff
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Abstract
This present invention demonstrates the presence of a replication-competent herpesvirus associated with AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma cells, vaccines derived therefrom, methods for diagnosing for Kaposi sarcoma, and methods for screening for antiviral drugs effective against human herpesvirus.
Claims12
A method of cultivating KS cells according to the present invention comprises the steps of:
- isolating a KS cell from a KS lesion or from tissue taken from a patient biopsy;
- and
- culturing said KS cell on a medium coated with endothelial cell attachment factor.
A method for propagating a cell infected with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) comprising:
- contacting a culture of epithelial cells or umbilical endothelial cord cells with a cell or cell lysate of a HHV-8 to form an infected cell culture,
- incubating the infected cell culture for at least 1 day, and
- passaging the infected cell culture.
A method of detecting the presence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) in a biological fluid comprising:
- contacting said biological fluid from said patient with an antibody specific HHV-8, and
- detecting the presence of complexes of antibody and human herpesvirus.
A method of detecting the presence of antibodies selective for human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) in a biological fluid comprising:
- contacting said biological fluid from said patient with HHV-8 viral antigen so as to form complexes between said viral antigen and any antibodies selective for HHV-8,
- detecting the presence of said complexes of antibody and viral antigen.
A method of screening for antiviral activity against human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), comprising:
- cultivating a cell line infected with HHV-8 for at least 1 day,
- contacting said infected cell culture with an antiviral drug candidate to form an exposed cell culture,
- culturing the exposed cell in the presence of the antiviral drug candidate, and
- determining the effect of the antiviral drug candidate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.