Insights into pathogenic events of HIV-associated Kaposi sarcoma and immune reconstitution syndrome related Kaposi sarcoma

A decrease in the incidence of human immune deficiency virus-associated Kaposi sarcoma (HIV-KS) and regression of some established HIV-KS lesions is evident after the introduction of highly active anti-retroviral treatment (HAART), and is attributed to generalized immune restoration, to the reconstitution of human herpesvirus (HHV)-8 specific cellular immune responses, and to the decrease in HIV Tat protein and HHV-8 loads following HAART. However, a small subset of HIV-seropositive subjects with a low CD4+ T cell count at the time of introduction of HAART, may develop HIV-KS as immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) within 8 weeks thereafter. © 2008 Feller and Lemmer; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.