Fumagillin, a potent angiogenesis inhibitor, induces Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus replication in primary effusion lymphoma cells

Abstract Kaposi sarcoma and primary effusion lymphoma cells are infected with Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), predominantly in the latent form, and KSHV replication is observed rarely. Angiogenesis plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of both Kaposi sarcoma and primary effusion lymphoma. In this study, we found that fumagillin, a potent angiogenesis inhibitor, induced replication of KSHV in primary effusion lymphoma cell lines. The transcript and protein product of replication transcriptional activator (RTA) were induced by 1–10 μM fumagillin at 24 and 48 h, respectively. Western blot analysis demonstrated that 10 μM fumagillin induced not only RTA expression but also other KSHV-encoded lytic proteins. A real-time PCR array detecting KSHV gene expression demonstrated that the expression profiles of KSHV induced by fumagillin were similar to those induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), but the amounts of each transcript were lower than those induced by TPA. Finally, real-time PCR demonstrated an increase in that viral DNA copy number per cell in fumagillin-stimulated primary effusion lymphoma cell lines, indicating replication of KSHV. In addition to TPA, 10 μM fumagillin resulted in growth inhibition of primary effusion lymphoma cell lines. These observations suggest that an angiogenesis inhibitor is an agent with potent effects on cell growth and KSHV reactivation in primary effusion lymphoma cells.