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Review
. 2025 Feb:603:110384.
doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2024.110384. Epub 2024 Dec 31.

Mouse models of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)

Kyle W Shifflett  1 , Dirk P Dittmer  2
Affiliations
Review

Mouse models of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)

Kyle W Shifflett et al. Virology. 2025 Feb.

Abstract

Infection with Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is a prerequisite for the development of several human cancers, including Kaposi sarcoma and primary effusion lymphoma. Efficient long-term infection with KSHV and subsequent virally induced cell transformation is limited to humans, resulting in a lack of small animal models for KSHV-driven malignancies. Various attempts to create a mouse model for KSHV include infection of humanized mice, generating transgenic mice that ectopically express viral proteins, and grafting KSHV-infected tumor, primary, or immortalized cells onto immunodeficient mice. While no single mouse model can recapitulate the full range of KSHV-associated pathologies described in humans, each model adds an essential piece to the complete picture of KSHV infection and oncogenesis.

Keywords: Cancer; GEMM; Herpesvirus; KSHV; Kaposi sarcoma; Mouse models.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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