Mus musculus breed:FVB/N Raw sequence reads

Kaposi Sarcoma (KS) is the most common cancer in AIDS patients and is tightly associated with infection by Kaposi-Sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). There exists no animal model for KS. Pronuclear injection of the entire 170,000 bp viral genome induced early-onset, aggressive angiosarcoma (AS) in transgenic mice. The tumors were histopathologically indistinguishable from human KS. Like KS, all tumor cells expressed the viral latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA). The tumors transcribed most viral genes, whereas endothelial cells in other organs only transcribed the viral latent genes. The tumor cells were of endothelial lineage and exhibited the same molecular pattern of pathway activation as KS, namely PI3K/ Akt /mTOR, IL-10, and VEGF. KSHV-induced AS was more aggressive than Ha-ras-induced AS. Overall survival could be increased by prophylactic ganciclovir. Thus, whole virus KSHV-transgenic mice represent an accurate model for KS and open the door for the genetic dissection of KS pathogenesis and evaluation of novel therapies, including vaccines.