Rhesus macaque rhadinovirus-associated disease.

Rhesus macaque rhadinovirus (RRV) is a gamma-2 herpesvirus that naturally infects rhesus macaque (RM) monkeys and is closely related to human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8)/Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). Infection of immunodeficient RM induces disease in infected RM that resembles KSHV-associated pathologies. Importantly, RRV possesses homologues of KSHV ORFs that are postulated to play a role in disease development. As such, RRV has emerged as a prominent in vivo model system for examining mechanisms of infection and disease of these pathogenic herpesviruses, and has provided unique insight into how these viruses cause disease.