Kaposi's sarcoma: Presence of herpes-type virus particles in a tumor specimen

Abstract
Three Kaposi''s sarcoma biopsy specimens obtained from 3 African patients with typical nodular cutaneous tumors were investigated morphologically for cellular modifictions suggestive of a viral origin. In one case a Kaposi''s sarcoma cell of the endothelial type contained a few intranuclear herpes-type viral inclusions. The present findings complement previous reports of herpes-type viral particles in Kaposi''s sarcoma cultured cell lines and suggest that, at least under certain conditions, Kaposi''s sarcoma cells enter a virus-producing phase.