Kaposi's sarcoma. IV. Detection of CMV DNA, CMV RNA and CMNA in tumor biopsies

In order to determine whether human cytomegalovirus‐ (CMV) DNA homologous sequences as well as CMV‐specific RNA(s) and antigen(s) exist in tumor biopsies of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) DNA‐DNA reassociation, RNA‐DNA in situ cytohybridization and anticomplement immunofluorescence test (ACIF) tests were applied. Three of 10 DNAs extracted from Kaposi sarcoma biopsies contained DNA sequences homologous to radioactively labelled human CMV DNA probe. The amount of CMV DNA in these sarcoma tissues was calculated to range from 0.7 to 1 genome equivalent per diploid cell. The presence of virus‐specific RNA was also demonstrated in sections from five of 10 tumor biopsies. CMV‐determined nuclear antigen(s) (CMNA) present in variable degrees were also demonstrated. In contrast, we could not detect any herpes simple virus type II (HSV‐2) or Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) DNA sequences in DNA of these tumor biopsies. Furthermore, there were no detectable HSV‐2 or EBV‐specific RNA or virus‐specific antigens in sections of these biopsies. These results provide new lines of evidence for the relationship between CMV and Kaposi's sarcoma.