Primary effusion lymphomas (PELs) are an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that are causally associated with Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). Infecting B cells with KSHV in vitro has so far been challenging, and even when infected, B cells are not transformed by KSHV, making it difficult to model the conditions necessary for the development of PELs.

Because most PELs are coinfected with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), researchers investigated the role of EBV in coinfection by KSHV. The authors found that coinfection with EBV supported the optimal infection of peripheral B cells with KSHV, with the highest efficiency of KSHV infection occurring within 24 hours of EBV infection.

The dually infected B cells were stably transformed and maintained both viruses for months in culture. Some transformed cells that grew to dominate the culture showed increased expression of most KSHV viral latent and lytic genes and shared multiple properties with PEL cells, including the differential expression of a subset of cellular genes similar to those of PEL cells.

The authors suggest that the long-term infection and in vitro transformation of peripheral B cells by KSHV and EBV could enable detailed analyses of the viral and cellular genes involved in the development of PEL. 

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/07/29/1905025116

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